Driver Fails to Yield at Intersection in Paradise Township | Shapiro, Washburn & Sharp

When police receive call after call about car accidents at the same intersection, it’s not by chance. Some intersections are just poorly designed. A two-car crash in Paradise Township was just one more in a long list of crashes to occur at Strasburg Road (Route 741) and South Vintage Road.

The crash happened around noon on May 4, 2014, when a woman driving a Toyota Venza on Route 741 stopped at a stop sign at the intersection with Strasburg Road but failed to yield to a man driving a Mustang . Both cars ended up in a field northwest of the intersection. The woman’s car rolled on its side. Firefighters found her suspended from her seat belt and had to cut off the roof of her car to free her. The man and woman were transported to Lancaster General Hospital with moderate injuries, and the roads were closed while the badly damaged cars were towed.

Kinzer Fire Company Chief Doug Brubaker told a Lancaster Online reporter that of all his company’s territory, they get more calls about accidents at this intersection than any other. In fact, the State Department of Transportation is adding a traffic light and widening the nearby Route 741/ South Belmont Road intersection because it has had so many accidents.

Unfortunately, no matter how an intersection is designed, ultimately it is the driver’s responsibility to exercise caution at a stop sign and wait to pull out onto a road until it is safe. A driver who fails to yield to a car with the right-of-way is at-fault and is should compensate the accident victim.

Car accidents are expensive, especially when they involve a trip to the hospital emergency room and the medical bills that follow. Sometimes an accident victim needs continuing treatment, such as physical therapy, and that adds additional expense. Add lost wages to the equation, and he could be facing serious financial difficulty. The at-fault driver’s insurance is responsible for paying for these expenses, but an insurance company is unlikely to offer a fair deal at the outset. It’s important for accident victims to seek help from an experienced accident attorney who can negotiate with insurance companies for a fair settlement, or if one can’t be reached, take the case to trial. For more information on what to do after a car accident injury, read The Best Guide to Car Accident Injuries in Virginia.

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