Two people died in a fatal car accident in Kansas City after a driver went the wrong way on the highway. Wrong-way crashes happen rarely, but when they do they are often fatal, and frequently lead to more than one death.
Wrong-Way Driver Causes Crash in Kansas City
The accident happened just before 10pm on the night of Tuesday, March 28, 2017. According to initial police reports, 34-year-old Troy Reliford, of Lee’s Summit, Missouri, was driving his Lincoln Navigator eastbound in the westbound lanes of Interstate 70. Tyrone Jennings Jr., a 30-year-old native of Kansas City, Kansas, was driving his Dodge Ram in the correct lanes when the two vehicles collided. Both of the drivers were killed in the head-on accident. Neither one was wearing a seatbelt.
Wrong-Way Car Accidents Are Rare But Severe
When it comes to car accidents on high speed, divided highways, wrong-way crashes only make up 3% of the crashes. However, studies have found that they can be up to 27 times as deadly as other accidents. One study found that, during a set time period, 0.3% of total car accidents that happened were fatal, while 22% of the wrong-way accidents during that time resulted in the loss of life. On average, approximately 360 people die every year in wrong-way car accidents in the United States.
The reason for the severity of wrong-way collisions is not a mystery. The surprise of a driver going the wrong way on a highway is enough to catch other, law-abiding drivers off guard and prevent them from taking effective evasive action. Any collision that results is likely to be a high-speed, head-on collision that has enough force to cause fatal injuries.
Causes of Wrong-Way Accidents
The reason behind wrong-way accidents is a little less clear. There are numerous reasons for people to miss the signs and get onto a highway going in the wrong direction. Statistics show that wrong-way accidents are most likely to happen between midnight and three in the morning, with a majority happening on weekends. This suggests that alcohol could be a part of the problem, and the numbers back it up: Alcohol has been found to be more than twice as likely to be a factor in wrong-way accidents than in other collisions.
St. Joseph Car Accident Attorneys at the Smith Law Office
Being the victim in a wrong-way accident can be devastating. The injuries that you suffered are likely to be severe or even permanently debilitating. Worse, being hurt by a wrong-way driver can make you feel victimized by a terrible situation that you had no way of controlling.
Getting the compensation that you need after a wrong-way collision is crucial. The best way to ensure you get the help you deserve is to pursue legal action and hire a personal injury attorney. The lawyers at the Smith Law Office can help. Contact us online or at (816) 875-9373.