Archive for October, 2010

Around 1 am Wednesday, October 6, a young couple was killed in a car accident around the Rivergate Mall, in Madison, TN. The accident occurred on Gallatin Road at the Alta Loma intersection. A man driving a pickup truck hit the couple’s Sebring and he has been charged with driving under the influence. The passenger of the pick up truck had minor injuries. Officials found several beer cans in the cab of the truck. The two young people in the car were pronounced dead at the scene, the two had been dating a little over a week.

Our condolences go out to the families of these two young adults. This accident could have been avoided, had this careless driver not have been behind the wheel drunk (see here for more information on drunk driving collisions in Tennessee). It is not immediately apparent how the accident occurred, other than the truck crashed into the driver side of the car. Officials have ordered blood tests on everyone involved in the accident, and more charges may be filed after the results come in. The driver of the truck was not only driving under the influence, but was behind the wheel with a revoked license. One of the victims father saw the news reports that fit the description of his daughter’s car, and sent his son, her brother, to the scene, to find that his sister was one of the deceased.

The young woman was attending Vol State for Nursing, and had a bright future ahead of her. The two young people’s lives have been cut short due to the carelessness of one drunk driver. Our condolences go out to the families of these two young adults. This accident could have been avoided, had this careless driver not have been behind the wheel drunk, and without a valid license.

1-800-377-HURT (4878)

1-800-377-HURT (4878)

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Around 4:00 p.m. on June 28^th, a 25-year-old Nashville man was driving an Explorer and was moving from one lane to the other to pass through the slower moving traffic on Briley Parkway in Nashville, Tennessee. He soon lost control on the wet road, and slid and rolled over. The man was not wearing his seat belt and was ejected from his car, where he died at the scene.

Our sympathies go out to this young man’s family and friends. This was a pointless, unnecessary death and I am sure they are suffering from this loss. Is there anything that can be learned from this kind of accident? A couple of things maybe: First, wet roads present a much greater risk to drivers than they think (click here for more info). Dropping your speed, regardless of your vehicle, tires, or handling is the smart thing to do. Second, even if this crash was unavoidable, would this young Nashville man have died if he were wearing a seat belt?

According to the National Traffic Safety Administration, fifty-five percent of people killed in car accidents were not wearing seat belts (see here). The numbers for car wrecks in Nashville aren’t any different. The unasked question has to do with this young man’s age. His greatest risk of death at this age is from a car accident. Statistics prove it (see here). What are we doing about it? The smart thing would be to restrict vehicle use among young men under 30 – that alone would save tens of thousands of lives, and hundreds of deaths in Tennessee from car accidents.

1-800-377-HURT (4878)

www.seriousinjury.com

A Tennessee man was killed in a single vehicle automobile accident while driving west on I-24 early on October 3^rd. According to officials, his pickup truck rolled over on an interstate exit ramp in Davidson County after he had lost control. The truck flipped at least one time before it landed back upright. The driver was pronounced dead at the scene. The passenger riding with him was hospitalized with minor injuries. The exit ramp was closed for about three hours, while the emergency crews cleaned the debris. Our sympathies go out to the driver’s family and friends.

This is a tragedy to them and should be to all of us. The unfortunate tendency is to always blame the driver for any car wreck in Tennessee. Was this Tennessee car accident unavoidable? Were the injuries from this accident avoidable? Investigators believe that the driver may have been traveling at a high rate of speed, and we have no information to the contrary. Maybe that was the cause. Speed is a factor in many fatalities from car accidents in Tennessee and across the U.S. (for more information about speed as a factor in fatalities, click here).

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A driver of a pick up truck was driving on Bell Road in Nashville around 7:45 p.m. in early September, when he struck a pedestrian and fled the scene. The young lady he hit was heading home from Percy Priest Lake here in Nashville, when she was carelessly run over. Her sister was on the way to pick her up, and saw the accident unfold. The passenger of the pick up truck in this later returned to the scene, and told officers who the driver was, and told officers that he pled with the driver to go back after the truck hit this young woman.

It is alleged that the two people in the truck were drinking before the accident. After the accident was aired on News channels, the driver turned himself in. He was later released on bond. The young woman struck in this collision later died in a Nashville hospital.

This is another sad case of what drunk driving can do to yourself, and families. You not only can destroy your life, but another’s in seconds. The family of the 22-year-old young woman now wants to know why the man responsible was able to leave with no charges, still with his license. Drunk driving is the cause of thousands of fatalities each year, (for more information about fatalities linked to drunk driving, click here). The criminal justice system is only part of the solution to this problem, as you can see by what has happened here. For example, can we be sure that this driver isn’t driving today? Suing these kinds of drivers makes sense and sends a message that you can’t walk away by paying a fine, attending classes, and spending a few days in jail.

1-800-377-HURT (4878)

www.seriousinjury.com