A bad choice proves deadly

On behalf of Noland Law Firm, LLC posted in car accidents on Friday, October 9, 2015.

You have seen drivers engage in this type of behavior. A car driving too fast, weaving in and out of lanes as it attempts to gain a few scant feet of advantage over the other vehicles on the highway. A pickup suddenly swinging across two or three lanes at the last moment, as a driver apparently realized this is their exit. A driver, head mostly down, obviously texting as they drive obliviously down the road.

In your incidents, those negligent drivers probably survived to drive another day. Or maybe you have witnessed a crash in real time, or perhaps come upon the carnage of a collision shortly after it occurred. If you have, it is unlikely something you will forget for a very long time.

Traffic was snarled on I-70 for hours on the other side of the state from Kansas City when a driver attempted the reckless move of passing a semi-truck on the left shoulder under a bridge. The driver of the pickup struck the median wall of the overpass and flipped his vehicle, which struck another car. The wreckage was then struck by a third car.

Both the driver and his passenger died in the crash. The Missouri State Highway Patrol and other law enforcement spent six hours examining and cleaning up the crash scene. Apparently, neither the driver nor his passenger was wearing a seat belt. Clearly only one of many errors of judgment they made that day.

Driving is a complex task, and for most people, it is the most hazardous activity they engage in during their day. It should be treated with respect, because at highway speeds, the difference between arriving at your destination safely and becoming the subject of an investigation by the Missouri State Highway Patrol’s accident reconstruction team can be a single, momentary bad decision.

Source: fox2now.com, “I-70 reopen after fatal crash kills two near Wentzville,” George Sells, September 25, 2015