Personal Injury Law

Side Impact Collision Kills Lockwood, Missouri Woman

By Ryan Bradley, Esq.

Sarah Harrison, 24, was killed Wednesday night when her car was hit from the side at an uncontrolled intersection just north of Lockwood.

A 1991 Mercury driven by Charles Bough, 39, entered the intersection heading north and impacted the driver?s side of Harrison?s westbound 1996 Nissan. Bough was not seriously injured. Harrison was pronounced dead early Thursday morning by the Dade county coroner and was transported to the Greenfield Funeral Chapel. Harrison?s husband, Jason, who was also in the car, was transported to Springfield?s Cox South Hospital with serious injuries.

Side Impact Car Accidents, sometimes referred to as "broadside collisions" or "T-bone collisions," occur when the side of a vehicle is struck by another vehicle or object. These types of car wrecks are very dangerous because forces are absorbed by the human body from the side and most vehicle safety features, especially in the vehicle involved in this accident, are designed to protect passengers from head on collisions.

From a personal injury lawyer?s perspective, a complicating aspect of this incident is the fact that it took place at an uncontrolled intersection. Uncontrolled intersections have no stop lights or signs and are typically found in less traveled rural areas. Just because there are no signs, though, does not mean there are no regulations for which vehicle has the right-of-way in these types of situations. Drivers approaching an uncontrolled intersection must yield to cars already in the intersection. If both vehicles are going to enter the intersection at the same time, however, the driver on the left must yield the right-of-way to the driver on his immediate right.

Using these general guidelines, it appears Bough failed to yield the right-of-way to Harrison. In order to fully understand how this Missouri car wreck happened, the Missouri State Highway Patrol will conduct an accident reconstruction.

If you or a member of your family have been involved in a crash at an uncontrolled intersection and would like to discuss your case for free, contact us at The Bradley Law Firm.

Full post as published by Missouri Accident Lawyer Blog on June 05, 2008 (boomark / email).