Eastern North Carolina has had another fatal head-on collision within the same week. Sadly, one person is dead, and two others seriously injured after a head-on collision that happened Friday in Craven County. The tragic wreck occurred around lunchtime on Highway 55 near Broad Creek Road.
Carolyn Tarlton of Zebulon has been reported as a fatality in the collision. Tarlton was a passenger in the pickup truck. The woman’s husband, Joseph, is still being cared for at Pitt County Memorial Hospital.
NC State Troopers have reported that 21-year-old Edward Servin of Bayboro was driving a Pontiac when it crossed the center line and struck the couple’s truck head-on. Sevin has been charged with driving while his license is revoked, driving left of center and careless and reckless driving; additional charges are pending.
A head on collision occurs when the front end of two vehicles hit each other, these accidents result in the highest number of fatal crashes because the combined forces are so high. If two vehicles collide head-on, with each traveling at 50 mph the combined speed would equal 100mph. The reason for this is a law of physics called the Momentum conservation: In a collision occurring between car 1 and car 2, the total momentum of the two vehicles before the collision is equal to the total momentum of the two vehicles after the collision. Head on crashes often occur when passing, but can also be caused by driver inattention.