The Kickham Comment - Boston Accident Lawyer Blog
My wife Debbi gets the shudders every time we drive to Cape Cod and cross the Sagamore Bridge. Why? Because, as is true with many roads in Massachusetts, there is no divider in the center of the four-lane span. Cars and other vehicles are passing each other in the opposite direction at 40 MPH or more – just inches apart from each other. She’s always terrified of a head-on-collision, believing that the lack of a center divider on roads like this makes things very dangerous. She’s right: If just one car next to the center lane suddenly veers to the left or the right, it is going to cause a head-on crash. (This is true of any two-way road with no center divider; but bridges make a head-on collision even more dangerous.)
I point this out because just yesterday, this very type of accident occurred in nearby Jamaica Plain, on the Arborway. The Arborway is a four-lane road leading from the Dedham/West Roxbury area, to the city of Boston. It has no center divider, so cars closest to the center are coming at each other in the opposite direction, within inches of each other. By specific accident type, it was a Massachusetts SUV rollover accident. I don’t like to use this blog to rehash yesterday’s news, but this Boston car accident further points out how danger can lurk around every corner when you drive, and when you least expect it. As a Boston, Massachusetts car accident lawyer, I can’t emphasize enough that one must ALWAYS be extremely attentive when driving.
An SUV on the Arborway suddenly crossed over the center line, flipped over, and then struck a pickup truck carrying two men. The four teenagers in the SUV were all injured, as were the two men in the pickup truck. All six people were taken to local hospitals. People on the scene described the accident, and its aftermath, as “horrific.” At this point, the authorities do not know if distracted driving (texting or phoning), drugs, or alcohol contributed to this Boston, Massachusetts car crash. It occurred at 2:00 PM.
Both vehicles – a 2003 Mazda Tribute and a 2004 Ford pickup – were mangled in the crash, which witnesses described as “horrific.” They’re right. These types of Massachusetts head-on car crashes are horrifying to witness. As a Boston car crash attorney, I’ve seen far, far too many of these accidents. The injuries they cause can destroy a life — and I don’t mean by death: There are even worse outcomes, believe it or not. Try quadriplegic paralysis (think Christopher Reeve.) Or burns over a large portion of your body. Or deforming injuries to your face. Or brain damage. The list goes on and on.
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the projected number of traffic fatalities for the first quarter of 2013 demonstrates that almost 7,200 people died in motor vehicle traffic collisions in the first three months of this year. This figure represents a decrease of almost 4.4%, compared to the 7,530 deaths that the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration had originally projected to have taken place in 2012. That’s a positive sign.
In the meantime, I urge everyone who gets behind the wheel to always be on the alert, don’t drink and drive, don’t text or use your phone while driving, and drive defensively.