Posts Tagged ‘car accident’

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.

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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.

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Just before noon last Saturday, The Tennessee Highway Patrol responded to a Nashville car
accident that took the life of an innocent 4 year old child, and the driver of another car that was
involved. Authorities say that a 28 year old woman was driving a black Honda south on
Nolensville Road when she lost control of her car, and veered into oncoming traffic, causing
the fatal car crash.

According to the State Troopers, she had clipped two cars, then inevitably
crashed head on into another car. Five vehicles were involved in the end. The sweet little girl was
thrown from the back seat of her mother’s Nissan Maxima. She was pronounced dead on the way
to the hospital.

The driver of the Honda, we are told, may have been under the influence of alcohol,
as the investigators found alcohol bottles inside her car. She was pronounced dead on arrival.
Neither the driver of the Honda, nor the little girl were wearing seat belts. The mother of the
toddler was transported to Vanderbilt Hospital, where her condition is now unknown. The driver
and passenger of one other car were arrested for leaving the scene of a car accident, and not having
a valid license.

Certainly, this little girl should have been in proper restraints but she would be alive today but for the irresponsible behavior of the drunk driver.  Drunk drivers cause car wrecks in Nashville and Tennessee on a daily basis. Let’s not blame the victim.

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Two Nashville children were frightened by two dogs, and ran out into the road, where they were struck by a car. This Nashville car accident happened on West Trinity Lane. The police reports indicate that an 8 year old girl, and her 10 year old brother missed their bus and were walking to school. A Chihuahua and a beagle mix ran off of their owner’s porch toward the two children, scaring them into the street. When they got into the road, it was too late for a Pontiac Grand Prix to stop.

Ambulances were dispatched to the scene, and the children were taken to Vanderbilt Children’s Hospital, and admitted in critical condition. The driver of the car was not charged in connection with the crash. However, the owner of the two dogs was charged for letting the dogs run freely, and not having their rabies shots up to date.

So, how could this type of accident been avoided? Metro Davidson County has a “leash law” that prohibits owners from letting their dogs doing things exactly like this. Tennessee law also prohibits owners from letting their dogs run “at large”.  We don’t know what happened to the dogs’ owner, but let’s hope it was measured in part by the harm he/she caused.

1-800-377-HURT (4878)

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A woman has been killed in a Nashville car accident on I-40. The woman was heading west on I-40 when she lost control of her car and slid from the right side of the interstate into the median guard rail. She was pronounced dead at the scene. Police officials say that she was not wearing her seat belt and was thrown from the driver seat to the back seat of the car, resulting in her fatal injuries. Officials also say that had she been wearing her seat belt, this could have been avoided.

According to The Naval Safety Center, Only 1% of passengers who were restrained were ejected from their seats during a car crash. Of those ejected, 73% were killed. And for the survivors of an automobile accident, medical costs are on average 50% more expensive for those who aren’t wearing seat belts.

The real question here is why did this lady lose control? It doesn’t appear that the Nashville Metro Police had any clues, but someone may have seen this happen.  If you were a witness to this event, contact our Nashville law office or the Nashville Metro Police with your information.

1-800-377-HURT (4878)

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36-year-old Benny Ray Lawson of Goodlettsville, TN was killed in a single car crash on Saturday, August 14 according to the Cleveland Daily Banner.

Lawson, who was driving a 1998 Ford Mustang was the only one in the car at the time of the accident, and was thrown from the car during the incident said the Tennessee High Patrol’s report.

According to the report. Lawson had lost control of his vehicle, which left the roadway and overturned, ejecting him from the car. The report also states that Lawson was apparently not wearing a seat belt.

Our sympathy is to the family of the man involved in the crash.

This is yet another example of how not wearing your seat belt can significantly increase the likelihood of being ejected from a car during a roll over crash.

According to a study by Johns Hopkins University, seat belts can prevent people from being ejected from cars, and you are 25 times more likely to be killed or seriously injured in a crash if you are thrown from the vehicle.

A study by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) said that ejections from the vehicle is one of the most harmful events that can happen in a crash. In 2002, 73 percent of passengers who were completely ejected were killed.

Only 1 percent of passengers who reported that they were properly wearing a seat belt were completely ejected from the automobile compared to 30 percent of unrestrained passengers.

A copy of the official police report may be obtained by contacting:

1-800-377-HURT (4878)

www.seriousinjury.com

A wreck that occurred around 3 p.m. on Sunday August 8 on North Greenhill Road in Mt. Juliet took the life of a 16 year old girl, according to The Wilson Post.

She was a junior at Wilson Central High School, was a passenger in the 2003 Mercury Mountaineer pickup at the time of the wreck, and according to police she was not wearing her seat belt.

The 17 year old driver of the car, also a female, was wearing her safety belt and survived the crash. According to police, the driver crossed over the center line and then overcorrected, causing the truck to lose control.

The girl was thrown from the vehicle during the incident and landed about 90 feet from the road. According to the Wilson Post, she was transported to Vanderbilt Children’s Hospital, but died at 6:34 p.m. that evening.

“The driver of the vehicle wore her seatbelt while the passengers did not,” said Trooper Bill Fitzgerald of the Tennessee Highway Patrol, according to the report.

Approximately 35,000 people die in automobile accidents each year, and about 50 percent of these victims could have been saved if they had been wearing a seat belt.

Drivers and passengers are also 25 times more likely to be killed or gravely injured when they are thrown from the automobile that when remain in the vehicle.

This is a sad, sad thing for the family of this young woman. Our sympathy goes out to the family of the victim, and we can only hope that this can serve as a reminder to others to always fasten your seat belt when driving or riding in a motor vehicle.

A copy of the official police report may be obtained by contacting:

1-800-377-HURT (4878)

www.seriousinjury.com

An 18 year old male was killed in a Tennessee car wreck during the early morning of Sunday, August 8, when his 2001 Chevy Blazer crashed on the interstate exit ramp to State Route 840 in Rutherford Country according to the Daily News Journal in Murfreesboro.

The Murfreesboro man’s SUV flipped multiple times after exiting the interstate at a very high rate of speed said a spokesman for the Tennessee Highway Patrol.

The police report states, “The vehicle went off the left side of the road, overcorrected, re-entered the roadway, then went off the right side of roadway and overcorrected again. The vehicle re-entered the roadway, where (it) rolled over multiple times and came to rest on the left side of the roadway down an embankment on the vehicle’s left side.”

There was another 18 year old male in the SUV at the time of the accident who survived, but was cited for underage consumption, and police believe the driver may have also been under the influence.

“There’s an indication that alcohol was a factor in the crash,” the spokesman said according to the Daily News Journal. “Routine testing is being conducted to confirm whether the driver was impaired.”

Our sympathies to the families of these two young boys. Car wrecks are the leading cause of death in young men, but this didn’t have to happen.

If these young men were drinking, someone provided them the alcohol. An 18 year old’s judgement is often flawed, but someone over 21 was involved. Shame on them.

A copy of the official police report may be obtained by contacting:

1-800-377-HURT (4878)

www.seriousinjury.com