Speaking for myself, as a Maryland auto accident attorney, one of the most difficult things I’ve had to do in this job is try to comfort family members who have lost a loved on in a car or truck accident. Any accidental death is traumatic for those close to the victim, but automobile crashes are violent events and it’s so hard for the survivors to deal with the untimely death of a spouse, parent, child or sibling.
In Boston, Annapolis, Washington, D.C., or anywhere across this great state, our car accident lawyers come up against the harsh reality wrought by others’ mistakes. Recently, three members from the same family were involved in a horrendous single-vehicle crash that left two dead and a third in serious condition at a local hospital.
According to reports, a 57-year-old woman was driving her bother and her son eastbound on Maryland Route 4 near Lothian, MD, during the early evening hours of August 3. Police reports indicate that the vehicle was near Lower Pindell Road when it inexplicably left the roadway, struck a sign post, then rolled down an embankment and overturned into a stand of trees.
Until an accident investigation is completed, it is difficult to know if the crash was caused by faulty equipment, such as the car’s steering or suspension system, or if it was a case of driver error. A vehicle crash is bad enough, but when combined with a rollover scenario or impact with stationary objects, such as tree in this case, injuries to the occupants can range from broken bones to traumatic brain injury and spinal damage.
Whatever the cause in the particular accident, the result was devastating. Anne Arundel County Fire Department personnel had to cut the driver and her 67-year-old bother out of the mangled vehicle, but sadly both of them were pronounced dead at the scene. The driver’s 19-year-old son was still alive, but suffered multiple injuries. He was transported to Prince George’s Hospital Center in Cheverly, where he was initially listed in serious condition. One thing is certain, the friends and relatives of these victims will have a difficult time coming to terms with their loss.
Two killed, one seriously injured in Lothian accident, BaltimoreSun.com, August 4, 2009