Multi-vehicle collisions are a fairly common occurrence on Maryland’s roadways and interstates. What is rare, however, is two separate multi-car traffic accidents on the same stretch of road on the same day. As Maryland personal injury attorneys, we do not mean to lessen the gravity of any kind of car, truck or motorcycle wreck. Far from it; these kinds of accidents can cause a range of injuries from fairly minor to life-threatening.
Closed-head trauma, spinal cord damage and partial or total paralysis are some of the worst effects of a bad passenger car or commercial trucking crash. While broken bones — either simple or compound fractures — or internal injuries, such as collapsed lungs, ruptured spleen, or internal bleeding, can be just as critical to a person’s survival upon entering the emergency room for treatment.
Being auto accident lawyers here in Baltimore, I and my colleagues help a variety of clients to recoup treatment costs, lost wages, and other automobile accident-related medical expenses following a serious crash. Not only do we serve the residents of Maryland, we also provide legal services to victims of car, bus and pedestrian accidents in the Washington, D.C., area as well.
A few weeks back there was a news article that pretty much proves lightening, or in this case, traffic collisions, can strike twice in the same place. By this we mean within less than a football field’s length. As it happened, there was a set of two separate automobile wrecks along the same stretch of Harford Rd. the other day.
According to news reports, the first accident occurred on a Friday afternoon around 2:30pm as police and emergency crews responded to a 911 call for a car accident near the intersection of Harford Rd. and Second Ave. In that accident, which authorities indicated was the more serious of the two that day, a Toyota RAV4 sport utility vehicle hit another car from behind before traveling onward along Harford and veering into the oncoming lanes.
The Toyota hit a Chevrolet HHR apparently head-on, causing that vehicle to roll over. Police reports showed that the SUV continued on across the opposing lanes, off the roadway and into a professional building that houses a chiropractic center. At that point the Toyota also overturned and began to leak fuel from its gas tank. Multiple fire engines, ambulances and police officers responded to the accident.
A spokesperson for the Baltimore County police told news outlets that the driver of the Chevrolet was taken to a local medical facility, while the woman driving the Toyota was taken to Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center. At the time of the news article, police had not yet released the names of the individuals involved in the wreck.
About an hour later, according to police reports, a Mitsubishi sedan, a Ford Escape SUV and a Ford pickup truck had a low-speed collision as one or more of the vehicles attempted to turn either into or off of Harford Rd., just two block away from the earlier accident scene. News articles indicated that only the driver of the Escape was taken to Franklin Square Hospital Center for reported treatment of minor injuries.
There was no mention of whether drug or alcohol use were suspected in either of the two accidents. Furthermore, at the time of the news article, police had not announced if the first accident may have been a result of defective vehicle equipment or other mechanical problem.
Multi-Car Accidents Injure Two, Stall Harford Road, Patch.com, August 5, 2011