A head-on collision is one of the most deadly types of traffic accidents. Even at low-speeds, the combined force of two cars or trucks hitting each other from opposing directions can be quite high. Seat belts and air bags can help to lessen the effect on occupants, but the outcome is never certain.
As Maryland automobile injury lawyers, I and my colleagues have certainly assisted our share of victims from this kind of motor vehicle collision. Severe head trauma, back injuries, broken bones and lacerations top the list of bodily injuries associated with a high- and medium-speed car wrecks. Fatalities are also quite common in this type of accident.
Rural roads and undivided highways are quite often the scene of such devastating crashes. Not long ago, a woman was killed near the Antietam National Battlefield when the vehicle in which she was traveling was hit by another oncoming passenger car. According to police reports, the young woman who died was sitting in the front passenger seat and wearing her seat belt.
The accident happened on Route 65 around 1am on a Thursday morning when the northbound 1993 Buick Century driven by Lauren D. Dwyer, 21, and carrying 21-year-old Danielle R. Paikin and 25-year-old Joseph W. Dwyer, was hit head-on by a southbound 1982 Dodge Diplomat driven by 20-year-old William J. Turner of Sharpsburg.
The Buick, which ended up across the roadway, and was hit a second time on the passenger side shortly after the initial crash by another northbound vehicle driven by 25-year-old Cory S. Kuczynski. Paikin, who had been riding in the front passenger seat, died at the scene from injuries sustained in both crashes.
The Buick’s other two occupants were seriously injured. Rescuers arriving at the scene rendered medical assistance and then transported the two to the University of Maryland Shock Trauma Center in Baltimore, where they were listed in serious but stable condition..One of the other drivers was taken to Washington County Hospital in Hagerstown, and the third driver did not require hospitalization, according to Maryland State Police.
No word on whether driver error or defective equipment may have been to blame for the first collision. An investigation and crash reconstruction by the Maryland State Police CRASH Team was ongoing at the time of the news report.
Police investigate fatality after car is hit twice on Maryland Route 65, TheRecordHerald.com, May 7, 2010
Del. woman killed, three injured in crash near Antietam Battlefield, Herald-Mail.com, May 6, 2010