A fatal SUV rollover accident in Stephens City, Virginia (VA), appears to have been caused by a car’s driver who failed to wait long enough to let traffic clear an intersection.
Police told the Northern Virginia Daily that around noon on August 21, 2012, a Chevy Blazer was clipped on its rear end by a car crossing Tasker Road. The fatal crash occurred near the intersection with Queen’s Way, and the car’s driver had a stop sign. No charges were immediately filed against the car’s driver, but the investigation into the wreck continues.
News report indicate that the man who lost his life was ejected from his vehicle as it flipped over and that he was not wearing a seat belt at the time of the accident. Regardless of that lapse in essential safety, investigators must also focus on why the woman behind the wheel of the car seems to have either not heeded the stop sign in her direction or entered the intersection in an unsafe manner. Possible explanations for either scenario include distraction, impairment by drugs or alcohol, and recklessness.
My Virginia wrongful death attorney colleagues and I know that safely moving through an intersection can come down to split-second decisions made by others and mere inches. The smallest miscalculation of the speed of oncoming traffic or the slightest glimpse away from the road can make all the difference between being involved in a wreck that claims a life and getting home safely. When misjudgments or negligence occur, irreversible tragedy can result.
EJL