Personal Injury Law

Rear-End Collision in Wright County Missouri Causes Chain Reaction Leaving Two Seriously Injured

By Ryan Bradley, Esq.

A three-car accident caused by a rear-end collision in just south of Mansfield, Missouri left two people seriously injured on Friday, March 11 at 2:25pm.

Rhonda R. Gerald stopped her 1994 Chevrolet in Friday afternoon traffic on Missouri Route 5. Gerald was then rear-ended by a 2011 Honda driven by Karen W. Blevins. The Missouri rear-end collision started a chain reaction that forced Blevins to cross the centerline and strike a 2006 Lincoln driven by Michael Tovar of Mountain Home, Arkansas. The rear-end collision combined with the Missouri wrong-way auto accident caused extensive damage to all vehicles involved.

Gerald of Mansfield, Missouri suffered serious injuries in this Missouri car accident. An ambulance transported her to St. John?s Hospital in Springfield, Missouri. Betty J. Tovar, a passenger in the 2006 Lincoln driven by Michael Tovar, also suffered serious injuries. She was transported to Cox South Hospital in Springfield, Missouri, by air ambulance. No injuries were reported for other drivers or passengers.

Rear-end collisions are the most common type of auto accident at 2.5 million each year nationwide. Driver inattention is often a cause of car accidents in which a stopped car is rear ended. Driver inattention is not a new phenomenon, but the increase in electronic device use while driving exacerbates the problem. The Journal of the Transportation Research Board published a study in 2009 analyzing the effects of electronic device usage in Missouri car accidents from 2001 to 2006. The study found that driver inattention led to a higher likelihood of crash involvement. Specifically, the highest number of inattention-related accidents occurred when drivers used cell phones or other electronic devices while driving.

Driver inattention from text messaging and cell phone use endangers Missouri drivers. Missouri does not have a cell phone ban for drivers, despite the scientific link between cell phone usage and car accidents. Missouri?s limited text messaging ban only applies to novice drivers, defined as drivers aged 21 and younger. Given the laxity of Missouri?s driving regulations, driver inattention will continue to play a prominent role in Missouri rear impact car accidents.

Full post as published by Missouri Accident Lawyer Blog on March 14, 2011 (boomark / email).