Boston Car Accident Lawyer Blog
A mother and her two young daughters were involved in a fatal rollover car accident in Boston on Interstate 90 after the mom lost control of her vehicle recently. The vehicle rolled over three times and landed right side up. The two young girls were thrown from the car and the 6-year-old died in the accident. None of the passengers were wearing seat belts, according to Boston.com.
Reports indicate that the driver lost control of the car trying to get out of the way of a vehicle that drove into her lane. Massachusetts authorities are still deciding whether or not to file charges against the mother, The Boston Globe reports. She has a record of serious motor vehicle violations. The mother had her license suspended back in March for driving while under the influence of alcohol. She also neglected to place her children in the appropriate child-safety seats.
A second Massachusetts rollover car accident left a man in critical condition at a local hospital after an accident on Route 114 in North Andover, according to the Eagle Tribune and North Andover Patch. Traveling eastbound on Route 114, the driver lost control of his sport utility vehicle and rolled multiple times. His car came to rest at the corner of Willow Road and Route 114.
The driver was airlifted to Boston Medical Center. The North Andover Police Accident Reconstruction Team is investigating the accident, according to Eagle Tribune.
It doesn’t end there. A third rollover accident happened last week on the 800 block of Turnpike Street. The driver was airlifted to a hospital in Boston after his sport utility vehicle rolled over several times. Police report the car rolled over a span of about 200 feet.
These are just a few of the rollover accidents that have happened in the Boston area in the last month. Airbags may be one of the greatest pieces of safety equipment in a rollover accident.
Side airbags are installed in a number of vehicles to help protect passengers in the event of one of these accidents. Right now, some vehicles are equipped with side airbags. These are airbags that deploy for six seconds to ensure occupant safety in the event of a rollover accident. Other vehicles have side airbags that only inflate for milliseconds. Even worse, there are some vehicles that have side airbags that aren’t even designed to deploy in a rollover accident. These particular types of airbags are designed to deploy only when the vehicle is hit from the side.
Another unfortunate outcome of a rollover accident is when a passenger is ejected from the vehicle. It is estimated that more than half of the 10,000 people that are killed each year in rollover accidents die after they are ejected from the vehicle. The longer a side airbag stays inflated, the less likely a passenger is to be thrown from the vehicle.
In an attempt to provide more safety measures to SUV occupants, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration introduced a rollover rating system back in 2001. This system bases a vehicle’s rollover rating on an engineering analysis of each vehicle’s center of gravity and the width between the front tires. The rollover rating scale ranks from five stars, which means the vehicle has a rollover risk of less than 10 percent, to a one star, which indicates a rollover risk greater than 40 percent.
If you have been injured in an accident in the Boston area, contact Massachusetts Personal Injury Attorney Jeffrey S. Glassman for a free and confidential appointment to discuss your rights. Call (617) 777-7777.
Additional Resources:
As mom grieves, police weigh charges, by Maria Cramer, Boston.com
Rollover victim in critical condition, by Alex Bloom, Eagle Tribune
Man Medflighted to Boston After Rollover on 114, by Bryan McGonigle, North Andover Patch
More Blog Entries:
Chrysler Recalls 11,000 Vehicles – Faulty Parts May Lead to Boston Car Accident Injuries, Boston Personal Injury Attorney Blog, June 20, 2011
U.S. DOT Targets Telematics Detroit 2011 to Raise Awareness of Car Accidents in Boston and Elsewhere, Boston Personal Injury Attorney Blog, June 17, 2011