Double Fatality in Floyd County Kentucky Auto Accident
On December 6, 2022, there was a deadly auto accident in Floyd County, Kentucky. Kentucky State Police have reported that a Dodge pickup truck crossed the centerline on Kentucky Route 114 near Prestonsburg Kentucky and struck a Nissan pickup killing the two occupants in the Nissan. Almost 700 people have died in auto accidents this year in Kentucky. A common cause of fatal auto accidents is when one vehicle crosses the centerline and both vehicles are traveling at a high rate of speed.
What factors help prevent death in the event of a car accident?
Everywhere you drive in Kentucky you see memorials along the side of the road where someone has perished in a car, truck or motorcycle accident. We know that in 2022 over 700 people died on Kentucky roadways and that happens every year. If 700 people a year die on Kentucky roadways every year and you live to be 70 years old, you will have lived through 49,000 deaths on Kentucky roadways. That is a staggering number! In light of this knowledge, what can we do to make sure that we have the best chance possible of surviving an auto accident?
The size of your vehicle matters. The reason we do not want to get involved in an accident with a tractor trailer or other commercial vehicle is because of the size and weight of the vehicle. We know that if two objects collide that the significantly smaller one will sustain the most damage and that applies to those that occupy the vehicles. You rarely see the driver of the tractor trailer injured but the automobile is crushed. An accident between a motorcycle and an automobile rarely causes injury to the people in the automobile and the motorcyclist is usually serious injured or killed.
The size of the vehicle can have an effect on how the vehicles collide. If a smaller vehicle runs into a bigger vehicle, the smaller vehicle can be impacted in a way that allows intrusion inside the vehicle. I had a case once where a sedan ran into the back of a tractor trailer and the back of the trailer went through the windshield of the automobile due to the heights of the vehicles and killed the driver. I had an accident myself where I was driving a SUV and I rearended a tractor pulling a trailer at night and if I had been driving my sedan, the trailer would have gone through my windshield. Fortunately, I was in a SUV and the trailer hit the front bumper and I survived.
Another significant way we can prevent a fatality in an accident is to wear our seatbelts. There are accidents where the seatbelt would not help the survivability of an accident and there are even accident where the failure to use a seatbelt saved the life of the passenger, but, statistically speaking, wearing your seatbelt saves more lives than it loses. Many people are killed when they are thrown through the windshield during an accident. If you are on a school bus or city bus, you will not have the opportunity to wear a seatbelt because they are not commonly installed on these vehicles. However, if you have access to a seatbelt, use it.
Contact Kentucky Auto Accident Lawyer!
Matthew Troutman, a Kentucky auto accident lawyer, of the Troutman Law Office has been handling auto accident claims, almost exclusively, since 1986 and has the experience and talent to obtain the best result for the victims in the above car accident. The estates of the two confirmed dead will have significant wrongful death claims if they are not at fault in the accident. It is very likely that the at fault driver will not have enough insurance to fully compensate the victim’s estate, and, therefore, it will be important for there to be underinsured motorist benefits available. Many people fail to realize that if there is not enough insurance to satisfy their claim, then they will not receive full compensation. Rarely, is it prudent to go after the personal assets of the at fault driver because they can discharge the claim easily in bankruptcy court.
If you need legal assistance due to a motor vehicle accident, contact Kentucky auto accident attorney Matthew Troutman directly at 859-696-0001 or 502-648-9507 and he will meet with you in the hospital, your home or wherever is convenient for you. He will give you direct access through his cell phone and guide you through the difficult process necessary to obtain the best result possible for you in your car accident claim. To learn more about the Troutman Law Office, click here.