Maryland Car Accident Attorney Blog
It’s a sad reality that older people, especially elderly men and women, can die more easily in a car or commercial trucking accident than can younger persons. While older folks have the advantage of greater driving experience, when it comes to unavoidable traffic accidents, the odds of a young driver or passenger surviving a serious car or truck crash is likely better than that of an elderly motorist.
As Maryland personal injury attorneys, we see victims of traffic accidents ranging in age from the very young to senior citizens. These people, from infants and children to parent, grandparents and the elderly, all have one thing in common; they were injured though the thoughtless or negligent actions of another driver.
While different people are affected differently during car and truck wrecks, the unfortunate truth is that many receive serious to near-fatal injuries as a result of a traffic collision. Head and neck injuries are quite common, while broken bones, compound fractures and internal injuries are also not uncommon. Depending on vehicle speed, road and weather conditions, as well as occupant position within a vehicle, fatalities can result during a front, side or rear-impact scenario.
Tangling with a large box truck, city bus, or 18-wheel tractor-trailer can also contribute to the severity of a roadway collision. Whatever the cause, the aftermath in terms of injury, medical costs and financial impact to the family as a whole can be devastating on so many levels. In the case of fatal highway wrecks, no amount of compensation can bring back a lost loved one, but recovering the cost of sometimes exorbitant medical bills and lost wages can give the survivors a better chance to continue with their own lives.
Not long ago, an older couple was tragically killed in a traffic accident in Benedict, MD. According to news reports, a multi-vehicle crash along a stretch of Rte 231 just west of the Patuxent River Bridge involved four separate vehicles and injured a handful of others, in addition to killing the two victims in one of the automobiles.
As Baltimore car, truck and motorcycle accident attorneys, we represent victims of auto accidents in Maryland and the Washington, D.C., area. In this particular instance, the Friday morning accident, which occurred just before noon, involved a rather small car carrying the two victims and a rental truck belonging to the Penske rental firm. Based on reports, Franz and Evelyn Sommer, aged 84 and 67 respectively, were riding in a 2011 Ford Focus when it was hit from behind by the box truck while waiting to turn left from the eastbound lanes at the intersection of Rte 231 and Dicandia Dorsey Place.
According to Maryland State Police, the truck rear-ended the couple’s car, which was then pushed into the path of westbound traffic on Rte 231. At that point, the Focus was hit head-on by a Mitsubishi Galant driven by 42-year-old Deborah Parkinson. Following the crash, the rental truck hit a Saturn sedan operated by a 23-year-old woman from Lusby, MD. That vehicle had two young children riding inside; a 2-month-old baby and a one-year-old infant.
Police reports show that the two older people in the Ford economy car died at the scene of the wreck. The other victims, as well as the 32-year-old driver of the Penske rental vehicle received non-life-threatening injuries. Most were taken to Prince George’s Hospital Center in Cheverly, MD. The truck’s driver was taken to Calvert Memorial Hospital, according to news reports.
The initial police investigation showed that the truck driver was likely responsible for the multi-vehicle collision due to failure to control his vehicle’s speed. Police reports did not show that alcohol was a factor in the fatal traffic accident.
Two die in Benedict crash, SOMdNews.com, September 14, 2011