Posted in Car Accident,Personal Injury,Tennessee Accident Law on September 3, 2015
Accident on State Route 840 in Rutherford County Kills 2, Injures 1
A serious accident on State Route 840 in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, Wednesday led to two fatalities and one person suffering major injuries.
According to reports by wsmv.com and the Daily News Journal, the accident occurred around 2:46 p.m. when the 27-year-old driver of an Acura RSX was heading eastbound and began to drift off to the right side of the road near Jefferson Pike. As her vehicle began to leave the roadway, she overcorrected, drove back onto 840 and crashed through the media into the westbound lanes of traffic, colliding with a Nissan Maxima.
The impact of the collision caused the woman to be ejected from her vehicle. The Tennessee Highway Patrol’s initial report of the accident stated that the woman wasn’t wearing her seat belt at the time of the collision.
The driver of the Nissan Maxima, a 50-year-old man, also died as a result of the collision, and his 32-year-old passenger suffered serious injuries. The THP says neither was wearing seat belts.
Emergency responders worked to clear the accident scene and divert traffic, and the westbound lanes of 840 were closed for around two hours before the roadway was cleared.
Why is Wearing a Seat Belt So Important?
The next time you get behind the wheel of your vehicle, putting your seat belt on will be the most important thing you do during the entire duration of your trip. Since their introduction in cars many decades ago, seat belts have saved countless lives and helped car accident victims escape from serious and otherwise fatal crashes with only minor injuries. The reasons for wearing a seat belt at all times as a driver or passenger are well-documented and well-known, but it never hurts to reemphasize the importance:
Tennessee law requires that all drivers and passengers buckle up before driving on public roads. In recent years, police officers and state troopers have increased enforcement of this law by ramping up patrols and establishing checkpoints to ticket drivers and passengers who don’t buckle up.
There’s no way around it—car accidents can be extremely dangerous. When two vehicles, both weighing thousands of pounds, collide at high speeds, the drivers and passengers inside those vehicles are extremely likely to suffer injuries. However, seat belt usage can reduce the risk of serious injuries significantly, and in many cases car accident victims walk away from accidents with only minor injuries.
Rollover crashes and high-speed accidents put drivers and passengers at high risk of being ejected from their vehicles. People who are ejected from their vehicles during accidents are extremely likely to suffer debilitating and even fatal injuries—including being struck by other vehicles in traffic. Seat belt usage can significantly reduce the risk of being ejected during an accident.
Although modern vehicles are equipped with a wide variety of safety features beyond seat belts, those features—such as air bags, anti-lock brakes, and collision detection systems—aren’t nearly as effective without the benefit of seat belts.
The Murfreesboro car accident attorneys at Matt Hardin Law know that the consequences of not wearing a seat belt can be devastating for all drivers and passengers in Middle Tennessee. Buckling up is something that takes only seconds, but it can adds years to your life.
If you or someone you love was injured in a car accident caused by another driver’s negligence, our legal may be able to help you get compensation for your lost wages, medical bills, vehicle repair expenses, and more. We have 20 years of experience assisting injured victims, and we can put our experience to work for you today. Just dial (615) 600-4941 or fill out a free consultation form.
