Articles Posted in Fatal Accidents

As of late Friday night, reports were appearing on the internet about a head-on collision on the westbound lane of Interstate 90. The crash happened at around 8:30 pm on September 7, 2012, near exit 6 of the turnpike, close to mile marker 54. As authorities responded to the incident, traffic was diverted off the highway at exit 7, near Ludlow, Massachusetts, according to Trooper Kenneth Gaetz.

It had been assumed early on that the cause of the accident was a driver heading east on the westbound lane. Two other cars slammed into the first accident causing a pile up that snarled the weekend traffic. At least two people were taken by ambulance to Bay State Medical Center in Springfield, Massachusetts and the highway was shut down for roughly three hours. Area police and fire departments, state police crime scene and accident reconstruction units, and the State Department of Highways were all present on the scene. Authorities had gathered, but not yet confirmed, that a 2001 Honda from Connecticut was driving the wrong way down the westbound lane on the turnpike and crashed into a 1993 Subaru registered to an address in West Brookfield.

Tragically, new reports arose this morning saying that both men in the original pile up succumbed to their injuries and were pronounced at the hospital. David Procopio, spokesman for the State Police, asserted that there were other injured but he would not specify. The names of the deceased have been withheld. All that is presently known is that the man who was driving the wrong way down the westbound lane was 84 years old. The driver of the 1993 Subaru was 29. The investigation is now being overseen by Troop E of the Massachusetts State police along with the aforementioned organizations.
Continue reading

A recent report from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration that included an early estimate of motor vehicle traffic fatalities for the first quarter of 2012 has indicated a sharp increase in this figure compared with last year’s statistics. The projection estimates that 7,630 people died in motor vehicle accidents between January and March of this year. It comes amid reports from automakers that they are intensifying efforts to build cars that are safer and better-able to reduce the threats of distracted driving.

The NHTSA reports that the rise in fatalities translates to a roughly 13.5% increase from the number reported for the first quarter of 2011, which was 6,720. The NHTSA declined to include in the report any mention of contributing factors or implications of the data. However, a spokesman for the agency said, “It’s too soon to speculate…on any increase in deaths on our roadways.”

Perhaps the most puzzling part of this increase is that previous years all demonstrated a downward trend in roadway fatalities. In addition, many transportation safety officials commented that the figure is generally lowest for the first quarter of any given year, which is in large part due to the winter weather that usually accompanies those months. According to officials, the fact that this year’s winter was much warmer than usual, which meant that there were more drivers on the road than in other past years, could be a factor in the increase in fatalities.
Continue reading

Recent car crashes in December involving drivers or passengers not wearing seatbelts has resulted in a strong response from seatbelt advocates. Advocates are calling for stricter enforcement of the state’s seat belt law after these car crashes, many of which ended fatally. They are arguing that this is more than enough evidence that seatbelts save lives and they are calling on lawmakers to act in the New Year.

Massachusetts law already requires drivers and passengers to wear seat belts; however, police can only enforce the rule if they have stopped the vehicle for another violation, such as running a red light or speeding. Senator Patricia Jehlen, D-Somerville, and Representative Patricia Haddad, D-Somerset, are the chief sponsors of a bill that would make Massachusetts the 32nd state in the nation to let police pull over drivers for seat belt violations.

A recent UMass-Amherst study found that approximately 73 percent of Massachusetts drivers use seat belts, which is the lowest seatbelt usage rate in the United States and has thus sparked this debate. This number is also slightly lower than last year´s percentage of seatbelt users. All of the accident victims of the four accidents that occurred in December were young adults. Deborah Pentecost, a trauma program manager at South Shore Hospital in Weymouth, witnesses the flux of young victims entered into the emergency room who were not wearing seatbelts and believes that the message must also come from education. She commented “It’s the younger population that takes the risks…I think we’ve gotten the message to adults that have kids…and the population over 50.”

Mary Maguire, a spokeswoman for AAA Southern New England and co-chairwoman of Belts Ensure a Safer Tomorrow (BEST), a coalition of about 60 health, law enforcement and driver-safety groups, said “When there’s stronger, more effective enforcement, compliance increases.” BEST estimates that a stricter seat belt law could save Massachusetts approximately $1 billion over six years, because of avoided hospital bills, lower insurance premiums, and eligibility for federal grants.

The legislation to update the seatbelt law died in a tie vote in the House in 2004. In 2006, a similar bill passed both chambers in 2006, but was later shot down in a procedural vote in the House when three representatives changed their votes. Robert Fitzpatrick, Senator Jehlen’s chief of staff, said “We think we have the votes in the Senate…(In the House) it’s hard to know.”

Opponents to the bill, such as civil liberty groups, argue that the stricter seat belt law could give the opportunity to police to easily abuse the law by making unnecessary traffic stops or as an excuse for racial profiling.

If you have been involved in a road accident, it is in your best interest to contact an experienced Massachusetts car accident lawyer as soon as possible.

Sources:

Groups calling for tougher seat belt laws, Taunton Daily Gazette, January 5, 2012
Update sought on Massachusetts seat belt law, The Patriot Ledger, January 3, 2012
Related Blog Posts:

Woman Charged for Fatal Crash in Stoughton Held on $100,000 Bail

Man Indicted for Fatal Crash in Somerville

Drunk Driver Kills Two Teens Not Wearing Seatbelts in Somerville

Victims of Fatal Crash Not Wearing Seatbelts

Drunk Driver Causes Fatal Accident on Interstate 95
Continue reading

After a series of deaths in which drivers have stepped out of their vehicles on Massachusetts highways, Massachusetts State Police are reminding drivers to always remain in their vehicles after an accident until police arrive. After these three recent accidents, all of which appear to have initially been minor auto accidents, three people have died as a result of exiting their vehicles and stepping out into traffic. The first of these three incidents occurred on Friday morning, when a 75-year-old Somerville man was struck and killed in the Tip O’Neill Tunnel in Boston. Before hit by oncoming traffic, David Dang was reportedly standing in the traffic lane when he got out of his car after what seems to have been a minor car accident.

Just a few hours later, two other motorists were hit after getting out of their car in Lynnfield, just fifteen miles north of Boston. State Police report that a 2000 Saturn SL2 sedan had halted in the median on the southbound side of Route 128, at approximately 11:45 p.m. Two of the four occupants of the vehicle then exited the car and were standing in the travel lane when they were both hit by a vehicle. Police said Conner Toscano, 18, of Billerica was pronounced dead at the scene and 17-year-old Billerica woman was severely injured. She was taken to Massachusetts General Hospital with life-threatening injuries.

At approximately 1:15 a.m. on Saturday morning, Massachusetts State Police responded to yet another similar accident in Lancaster. On Route 190 northbound, just north of Exit 7, authorities reported that a 2005 Toyota Camry had hit the guardrail and was disabled in the median. The driver, Scott Symonds, 38, of West Boylston, then exited his vehicle and was hit by a 2006 Ford pickup truck driven by Eric Sifert, 42, of Westminster. Symonds was pronounced dead at the scene of the accident.

David Procopio, spokesperson for the state police, said “The crash remains under investigation to determine if any charges are warranted…The investigation is being conducted by Troop C of the Massachusetts State Police, along with the State Police Collision Analysis and Reconstruction Section and the State Police Crime Scene Services Section.”

Each of these highway-related fatalities involving people getting out of vehicles remain under investigation by Massachusetts State Police. State police are reminding motorists in disabled cars to try to get their vehicles out of the road immediately following an accident and to stay in their cars until police arrive at the scene of a reported crash.

If you have been involved in a Massachusetts car accident, it is in your best interest to contact an experienced a Massachusetts car accident lawyer.

Sources:

2 Killed Standing On Highways, www.thebostonchannel.com, November 27, 2011
Massachusetts man killed on highway after exiting vehicle following minor crash, www.MassLive.com, November 26, 2011
Related Blog Posts:

Man in Wheelchair Killed on Busy Street in Brockton

Boy On Bike Hit By Police Cruiser in Avon

Fatal Hit And Run Accident in Dorchester Kills 39-Year-Old Mother

74-year-old Bicyclist Killed in Boston

Wheelchair-bound Man Struck by Oil Truck in New Bedford
Continue reading