Fatal accidents on Missouri roadways happen all too frequently. Recently, two occurred in as many days. The first was a head-on collision between a pickup truck and a car that happened on a Friday. The pickup was headed east on Highway 32 whose driver was in the process of passing another vehicle in the eastbound lane. In doing so, he hit a westbound car and added to the tragic statistics of the state’s head-on collisions.
A 27-year-old male passenger in the car was pronounced dead at the scene of the accident by the Iron County Coroner. The car driver, 29 years old, and his other passenger, a 47-year-old man, both suffered serious injuries and were airlifted to Mercy Hospital. The 46-year-old driver of the pickup truck also suffered serious injuries and was airlifted to the same hospital.
The other fatal accident happened on the next morning at 11 a.m. and involved two cars. A 66-year-old woman hit another car when it turned into her path on the roadway. The other car was operated by a 29-year-old male. He was not injured. The women died at the scene of the accident and was pronounced dead by the St. Francois County Coroner.
Head-on collisions, like the one in Iron County, are often deadly. In any fatal Missouri wreck, a grieving family is typically left behind struggling to come to grips with what occurred. In such a circumstance, a family may opt to file a civil lawsuit for wrongful death, which must be based upon evidence of negligence by another party to the accident. If the party sued is separately found guilty of a crime or a traffic violation with regard to the crash, proof that may be offered in civil court as evidence of financial liability for any damages incurred.
Source: dailyjournalonline.com, “Two killed, others seriously injured in weekend crashes“, Traci Black, July 13, 2015
