A teen driver was hurt in a car accident when she drove her SUV into the back of a tractor on Route 36. Reports call her injuries “moderate,” though they could have been much worse. Her car was totaled. There were only minor damages to the tractor, and the person driving the tractor was not hurt.
Car Accident Involves Tractor
The incident happened early on Thursday morning, November 17, 2016, on Route 36, about 2 miles east of Stewartsville and less than 20 miles east of St. Joseph.
17-year-old Sydney Shurtleff, a St. Joseph resident, was driving her 2006 Kia Sportage sport utility vehicle eastbound on the divided highway. Just before 8am, Shurtleff hit the rear tow unit of an International Harvester tractor that was driving on the side of the road. The driver of the tractor, 50-year-old Edward Ernat, of Hamilton, Missouri, was not hurt in the collision, and was able to bring the tractor to a controlled stop on the side of the road.
Shurtleff, however, was not so lucky. Her Sportage was totaled in the collision, and she suffered moderate injuries that required her to be rushed to the hospital at Mosaic Life Care in St. Joseph.
Shurtleff’s injuries, however, could have been significantly worse. According to the Missouri State Highway Patrol’s online report of the incident, Shurtleff was wearing her seatbelt at the time of the crash.
Teen Drivers and Car Accidents
Across the United States, teenage drivers are a risk group when it comes to car accidents. According to the Centers for Disease Control, even though teenagers represent only 7% of the country’s population, they nevertheless account for 11% of the total costs of car accidents. In the year 2014 alone, 2,270 teens were killed in car accidents in the U.S., with another 221,313 needing treatment in emergency rooms across the country. On average, six teens died every day from injuries suffered in car accidents.
St. Joseph Car Accident Attorneys at Smith Law Office
Car accidents are just one of the unfortunate aspects of our daily lives in such a mobile society. Serious collisions can leave you or your loved ones in a lot of pain and suffering, and can drastically change your life by forcing you onto a long road to recovery. To make matters even worse, this recovery process is rarely inexpensive.
Having skilled car accident and personal injury attorneys on your side throughout the process can be the best way to ensure that you get the compensation that you need and deserve from those were ultimately responsible for your injuries and loss. The attorneys at the Smith Law Office fight for your interests by gathering evidence proving someone else was responsible for the accident, and that they should be the ones compensating your for what you had to go through.
If you or someone you love has been hurt in a car accident in the St. Joseph area, contact the Smith Law Office online or at (816) 875-9373.