Raleigh, North Carolina police evidently believe that the 27-year-old female was consuming alcohol prior to her car rear-ending another vehicle stopped at the red traffic light earlier last week, killing a 24-year-old man. Law enforcement asserted a 2006 Toyota Scion had been stopped at Six Forks Road, and Sawmill Road, about 4:45 a.m. when it was rear-ended by a 2007 Mazda 3 four door.
The Mazda has been running 45 mph and didn’t reduce speed prior to collision, as outlined by the wreck report. The Toyota moved 170 feet down the highway following impact, and the Mazda wound up among a couple of trees at the left edge of the street. John Michael Sullivan, from Charlotte, North Carolina was pinned inside the back seat of the Toyota. This young man died of his injuries.
The streets and highways of America can be the scene of real pain and suffering. Rear end collisions are the most common type of car crash in the United States, with about 2.5 million (out of almost 6.3 million total accidents) being rear enders. Rear end accidents commonly occur at low speed, but often the consequences are deadly.
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Wikepedia has this to say about the topic of “rear-end” collisions:
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A rear-end collision (often called simply rear-end or in the UK a shunt) is a traffic accident wherein a vehicle (usually an automobile or a truck) crashes into the vehicle in front of it, usually caused by tailgating or panic stops. It may also be a rail accident wherein a train runs into the rear of a preceding train.
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Typical scenarios for rear-ends are a sudden deceleration by the first car (for example, to avoid someone crossing the street) the following car that does not have the time to brake and collides with the first at a road junction the following car accelerates more rapidly than the leading.
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As a rule of thumb, crashing into another car is equivalent to crashing into a rigid surface (like a wall) at half of the speed. This means that rear-ending a still car while going at 30 mph is equivalent, in terms of forces, to crashing into a wall at 15 mph.
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The same is true for the vehicle crashed into.A typical medical consequence of rear-ends, even in case of collisions at moderate speed, is whiplash. In more severe cases permanent injuries, e.g. herniation, may occur.For purposes of insurance and policing, the driver of the car that rear-ends the other car is almost always considered to be at fault due to not being within stopping distance or lack of attention.
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An exception to this rule comes into play if the rear-ended vehicle is in reverse gear. If the driver of the car that was rear-ended files a claim against the driver who hit him, said driver could be responsible for all damages to the other driver’s car.
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The Ford Pinto became the focus widespread concern when it was alleged that a flaw in its design could cause fuel-fed fires as the result of a rear-end collision.