Secondary car accidents are often even more deadly than the first accident which they follow. What exactly is a secondary accident? A secondary accident occurs when someone hits a car that has already crashed and is on the side of the road. The video below shows just how dangers then can be not just for the occupants of the car but for first responders as well.
A Utah Highway Patrol trooper was injured Monday afternoon after responding to a car accident and subsequently being hit and pinned under a car. While the trooper was investigating the accident and waiting for the fire department to arrive and extricate the victims, a black BMW hydroplaned and collided with the first car which then hit the trooper. Luckily paramedics arrived moments later and used the “Jaws of Life” to lift the vehicle within a couple of minutes. The trooper was then transported to the hospital for serious but non-life threatening injuries.
Link to video: http://www.ksl.com/?nid=148&sid=35385665
Preventing secondary car accidents and injuries is the reason that Virginia, North Carolina and many other states have created “move over” laws. As Virginia car accident injury lawyers we know that drivers are legally required to move into the next lane or slow down by 20 mph if an emergency vehicle (e.g. police car) is stopped on the side of the highway. Approximately 71 percent of Americans don’t know about this law and may be shocked to discover that violating this “move over” law could cost you $2500.
The reason that this law is so important is that the second car accident is often worse than the first as the personnel are often out of their cars when hit. For example, there can be a relatively small fender bender which the state trooper is addressing on the highway. This could be on a road with a 70 mile an hour speed limit like Interstate 95 (I-95). By making the other cars get over one lane and as far away as practical from the scene of the first accident, the lives of law enforcement officers and the people in the first wreck may be saved.
