Posts Tagged ‘Seat Belt’
East Tennessee fatal crash kills 4 people
October 27th, 2010 | 
Author: An east Tennessee car crash involving a tractor trailer has left 4 people dead including two children and two adults, one who was pregnant. The accident happened on Tennessee Highway 68, and county road 292.
The Tennessee Department of Safety is including the woman’s unborn baby as a victim in the case. The driver of the big rig escaped injury even after the cab of his truck caught fire, but all of the people in the car that was hit, were killed.
Our condolences to the family and loved ones for this terrible tragedy.
The facts we have are scant – and certainly trucks are entitled to be on the roadway, but what happened here? Truck drivers are supposed to be professional drivers, and they are legally required to limit their driving time so they can be alert. That’s a rule that is often violated. Was that rule violated here? Was the car not visible from any of the truck’s mirrors? Did the driver look?
It can be scary out there. If you are around large trucks, don’t assume they are paying attention (as they should be) or using their mirrors (as they should be).
To learn more about transfer truck accidents, please click here.
1-800-377-HURT (4878)
A Dickson County man killed after crashing into a house
A Dickson County Tennessee crash involving a pickup truck has resulted in the death of a Tennessee man.
The crash happened on September 22nd and initial speculation is that the man driving the pick up truck had a heart attack and lost control of the vehicle. We know he was thrown out of the front windshield of the truck, and flew into the side of a house.
The truck then rolled, and rested against the house. Our condolences go out to this man’s family. Fortunately his sister, and her grandson who were also in the truck survived. Still this is a terrible memory. It is unfortunate that this man was not (apparently) wearing a seatbelt. While heart attacks are very serious, his chances of survival became dramatically worse when he was thrown from the truck.
For more information about health safety and driving, please click here.
To read on about seat belt usage, click here.
To read more about Tennessee Auto accidents, visit this site.
1-800-377-HURT (4878)
Woman killed in a crash on I-40
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)
Maury County Fatality – No Seat Belt
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)
Hendersonville Teen Fatalities
Two Beech High School students have died as a result of a car crash involving two cars on Friday, August 6 on Long Hollow Pike around 3:30 according to The Hendersonville Star News.
Two boys were both riding in a 1993 Toyota, that was driven by one of the boy’s older brother, when the car crossed the center line and hit another Eastbound vehicle according to the Tennessee Highway Patrol’s report.
The boy who was riding in the front passenger seat, was pronounced dead at the scene of the accident, and the other was sent to Vanderbilt Children’s Hospital and was in critical condition. The 15-year-old died on Friday according to the Davidson County Medical Examiner’s Office.
37-year-old Jennifer W. was the other driver that was involved in the crash, and was injured and transported to Hendersonville Medical Center, and has since been released.
According to the report, none of the three teenagers riding in the 1993 Toyota were wearing their seatbelts, but Willingham had been wearing hers.
Our sympathy goes out to the families of the teens involved in this tragedy, and this is yet another example of the dangers of not wearing a safety belt.
According to The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), they estimate that 15,383 lives were saved by seat belts in 2006, and from 1975 to 2006, safety belts have saved the lives of 226,567 people.
Unfortunately, one out of every four Americans still do not wear their seat belts! Many of these crash related deaths, like these two teenagers, could be avoided with the simple act of buckling up.
A copy of the official police report may be obtained by contacting:
1-800-377-HURT (4878)
Mt. Juliet Teen Fatality – No Seat Belt
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)
