A Buick Encore drifted into oncoming traffic and struck a Jeep causing it to roll over. The three occupants of the Jeep, a woman and two children, were injured but are expected to live. The crash occurred Thursday, December 6, 2018, around 7 am on Bleich Road just west of Hendron Road.
The driver of the Encore was also taken to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. Police at the scene say that it appeared that the Jeep lost a back tire at impact causing it to flip over on its roof. It then slid on its roof to the south side of the roadway where it came to rest.
Roll-Over Accidents
Accidents where one of the vehicles flips over can be especially dangerous. According to the National Transportation Highway Safety Administration, roll-over crashes have a much higher fatality rate than other crashes. Out of the 9 million vehicle crashes in 2010, for example, only 2 percent were roll-overs. However, nearly 35 percent of all traffic fatalities came from those roll-over crashes.
Seatbelts
The NTHSA also said that of the roll-over traffic fatalities in 2010, 70 percent of those occurred when the victim wasn’t wearing a seatbelt. This obviously means that when a roll-over accident occurs, your odds of serious injury or death drops considerably if you put on a seatbelt.
In another study, the National Center for Biotechnology Information found that once a person is ejected from a vehicle, their risk of death is 50 percent, but if that person was wearing a seatbelt, their chance of ejecting was virtually zero.
What to do in a Roll-Over
If you are in a roll-over accident, safety experts suggest that by doing certain things, you can increase your chance of survival and help prevent further damage. They are:
- Stay calm: This is the most important and for some the most difficult. But if you can stay or get calm, you can think better and make better decisions.
- Turn off engine: If you can get to the ignition, turn off engine. This will reduce the chance of fire and further injury.
- Do/Don’t undue your seatbelt: Don’t if you are hanging by your seatbelt as undoing your seatbelt can cause further injury when you release. Wait for someone to come help if you absolutely have to undue your seatbelt. Ideally, wait for professional first responders to arrive.
- Do if there is a fire of a chance of the vehicle falling off a cliff or some other event that would be catastrophic if you stayed with the vehicle. If you have to do it by yourself, try and position yourself to that your head will not impact first.
Do I need and Attorney?
Unfortunately, if you are involved in a serious accident, eventually you will have to deal with the financial loss that comes with it. The best thing to do—after you take care of your immediate medical needs—is to talk to someone who can advise you of your rights and legal options. This doesn’t mean that you have to retain an attorney, but speaking to one can give you the correct information to make a decision.
If you want to talk an attorney without any upfront fees, then call Kaufman & Stigger, PLLC. Their attorneys have knowledge of the laws regarding traffic and personal injury, and they have the experience to go up against the insurance companies and their lawyers.
When you call Kaufman & Stigger, PLLC, at 800 937-8443, you will immediately speak to a member of the legal team and not a message machine. You can also Live Chat with an expert who can immediately began helping you with your claim.
