Rollover Accident Claims Life of Belted 19-Year Old
Rollover Accident Claims Life of Belted 19-Year Old by Texas Rollover Accident Lawyer Justin A. Hill
Rollovers accident account for a full one-third (33%) of all traffic fatalities. Approximately 10,000 people die a year in rollover fatality accidents. Vehicles should be designed and manufactured to protect occupants in foreseeable rollover accidents. A recent accident in central Texas has claimed the life of a belted 19-year old. According to KWTX.com:
Texas Department of Public Safety officials say a tragic mid-afternoon rollover collision Thursday left one Central Texas woman dead. Waco DPS dispatcher Scarborough told News 10 the accident happened at 4:30 p.m. Thursday on FM 2954 in rural Robertson County. A 2005 Ford pickup truck was traveling northbound along FM 2954 when it drifted partially into the eastern roadside ditch, Scarborough said. The driver overcorrected, causing the vehicle to roll several times before it came to a rest on its roof in the western roadside ditch, the dispatcher said The driver, Jessica Dawn Corrigan, 19, of Marquez, was pronounced dead on the scene at 5:53 pm Thursday by Robertson County Justice of the Peace Keith Foltermann. She was wearing a seatbelt at the time of the accident. Corrigan’s body was taken to Hartfield-Ritter funeral home in Hearne.
Rollover prevention and creating stronger roofs continues to be a goal of automobile safety advocates and should be a high priority for vehicle manufacturers. Citing the report above, “Nearly 10,000 people a year are killed in rollovers. When vehicles roll, their roofs hit the ground, deform, and crush. Stronger roofs crush less, reducing the risk of injury from contact with the roof itself. Roofs that don’t collapse help keep people inside vehicles when they roll. Rollovers are much more common for SUVs and pickup trucks than for cars. In 2008 almost half (47 percent) of all pickup occupants killed in crashes were in trucks that rolled over. This compares with 58 percent of deaths in SUVs and 25 percent in cars.”
If someone you know was injured or killed as the result of a rollover accident, encourage them to immediately contact a competent attorney for advice. It is extremely important to do this quickly to ensure that evidence is preserved, the rollover scene is surveyed and preserved, statements are taken, and the rights of all are protected.
