Many Missouri drivers rely on quick reactions to avoid becoming involved in a car accident. Unfortunately, some head-on collisions cannot be avoided despite drivers’ best efforts to avoid them. This was the case in a recent crash in which one man lost his life.
The 79-year-old Missouri man was heading north on Highway 63 when a southbound vehicle crossed over into his lane. In an attempt to avoid the impending crash, the northbound man pulled onto the shoulder of the highway. Sadly, this effort was in vain because the vehicles still collided.
The northbound driver was pronounced dead at the scene. Emergency medical personnel rushed his passenger, a woman, to an area hospital in serious condition. The 50-year-old driver of the wrong-way vehicle suffered injuries serious enough that he had to be taken from the scene by helicopter. His passenger escaped with only minor injuries. This is the tenth fatality for the year — and the first for the month of May — to which the Missouri State Highway Patrol has responded.
No further information regarding the crash or any pending criminal charges is currently available. The family of the deceased driver and his seriously injured passenger retain the right to file civil actions seeking damages that are often awarded in head-on collisions of this nature. If the evidence establishes that the southbound driver’s negligent actions led to the death and injuries suffered in the crash, the court may consider the entry of monetary judgments for the deceased victim’s surviving family and for the injured woman.
Source: connectmidmissouri.com, “Holts Summit man dead after car accident”, May 20, 2015
