Personal Injury Law

Palm Beach County Resident dies in SUV Rollover Accident on Florida's Turnpike

By LaBovick Law

It is always sad to read about tragic accidents. On May 31, a 20 year old Wellington Resident  was having fun visiting Orlando with a group of friends from South Florida. Unfortunately, at 2:50 am, she was a passenger in a Lexus SUV on the Florida Turnpike near Orlando, when her friend lost control of the vehicle. The Lexus SUV rolled over twice, after hitting the guardrail, and ejected passenger Shanique Corbett from the vehicle.

Ms.Corbett died from injuries sustained in the Rollover accident. The driver, 20 year old, Emmylee A. Rousseau, 20, of Pembroke Pines. suffered serious injuries in addition to a 17 year old passenger.  According to reports, other passengers in the vehicle suffered minor or no injuries.

When someone dies in a car accident it is always a travesty. The first question that is asked is what caused the accident? Followed by could the accident have been avoided? Were the people wearing seatbelts? Was alcohol involved? Was it a mechanical or human error that caused the accident?

Investigators are investigating the Orlando SUV accident that killed 20 year old Corbett, who unfortunately was not wearing a seatbelt, according to published reports in the Palm Beach Post. The next question is would she have lived, if she were in a seatbelt at the time of the Rollover? We will never know the answer to that question. 

However, we can promote the message that wearing seatbelt is required in Florida for drivers and passengers because they help save lives.  The following are Florida Seatbelt Safety  Stats published from the organization Florida Students Against Distracted Driving (SADD) based on info from the 2007  National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and the FL Dept. of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles.

Florida Seatbelt Safety Stats:

• Every hour, someone dies in America simply because they didn't buckle up.
• Failure to buckle up contributes to more fatalities than any other single traffic safety-related behavior.
• Back seat passenger who do not wear seat belts are three times as likely to die or have serious injuries as passengers who wear a rear seat belt.
• Passengers up to the age of 18 must be belted when in either the front or tear seat of a vehicle.
• All front seat occupants must buckle up, even if the vehicle is equipped with an air bag.
• The driver is held responsible for passengers under 18 years of age who are not buckled up.
• Passengers 18 years of age or older may be individually fined if they are not buckled up.

Our deepest sympathies go out to the family and loved ones of Shanique Corbett. We strongly encourage all drivers and passengers to buckle up. It is the law in Florida and it can help save lives.

Full post as published by LaBovick Injury Law Blog on June 02, 2010 (boomark / email).