Not attempting to be trite here, however it’s somewhat true that a car accident can happen anytime, anywhere; but in one’s living room? The fact is, every day automobile, commercial truck and motorcycle accidents happen all across the 50 states, resulting in property damage, personal injury and occasionally traffic fatalities. But how common is it for a motor vehicle to hit a house or commercial establishment?
Quite frankly, as Maryland personal injury lawyers, in our line of work it is not unusual for a potential client to walk through our doors complaining of pain or other injury-related problems resulting from a car or trucking accident. Some personal injury plaintiffs are actually hurt by cars and truck while seated in a restaurant, standing on a sidewalk, or shopping at a grocery store. It may not happen frequently, but nothing surprises us when it comes to so-called pedestrian accidents.
Of course, the distance that a building is from a roadway has a direct bearing on the odds of it ever being hit by an out-of-control car or semi tractor-trailer rig. Obviously, homes, apartments, motels and commercial buildings located adjacent to major thoroughfares are the most at risk. By extension, the innocent people inside those structures are also at risk, though they may not realize it until the unthinkable happens.
When a vehicle crashes into a lightly-built home or store, the size and speed of the vehicle determines how much damage may be done to the structure; and, whether or not the vehicle will penetrate and actually drive into the interior. If that happens, and the car or truck is moving quickly, individuals inside could be struck, creating multiple injuries including cuts and lacerations, broken limbs, injury to internal organs, concussions and other closed-head trauma.
Not long ago, a pickup truck driving through a neighborhood apparently went out of control and smashed into a home owned by an elderly woman. Fortunately, at the time of the collision, the woman was not in her house, but the potential for injury or death could have been quite high, especially for a person of her age.
Based on police reports, the accident happened on a Friday afternoon along a stretch of King Malcolm Ave. in Anne Arundel County. For some reason, the driver of a black pickup truck lost control of the vehicle, which then left the roadway and plowed into the front of the home. John Moxley, the driver of the vehicle and manager of a local service station, told police that he was test-driving the truck, which was in for repairs at his business.
According to news reports, during the test drive apparently some kind of mechanical failure occurred which affected the steering system. The driver stated that as he was making a left turn near the home, something on the vehicle “snapped,” causing the truck to go out of control.
Based on public comments, some people familiar with that area couldn’t believe that an accident of this kind could happen at 25mph, which is apparently the speed limit in that area. Of course, a police investigation is necessary to establish any official fault in the crash. The one good thing is that the owner of the house, 81-year-old Audrey Brady, was not home at the time; there is no telling how badly she may have been hurt as a result of the impact.
Considering that the vehicle entered the woman’s living room — a space that she likely could have been occupying in the middle of the day — there is a high likelihood that she may not have survived the accident. At the very least, she could have spent her remaining day in a nursing home.
Vehicle Crashes Into Odenton Home, Patch.com, February 10, 2012