Even with Icy Roads, Drivers Should Adjust Their Speed Accordingly

Slick roads cause accidents. Drivers need to drive according to the weather conditions.

Just recently in Fort Worth, Texas, there were two deadly accidents attributed to the icy road conditions. It had just snowed, and the roads were particularly dangerous. The police were busy that night responding to the two wrecks, one on the East Loop 820 and the other on I-30.

The accident on the East Loop involved a 22-year-old man, Haun Ng (names have been changed to protect the identity of the victims), who was inspecting his car for damages after being involved in a fender bender with a tow truck. Another passing vehicle suddenly slammed into Ng’s car, threw Ng over a barrier and on to the highway several hundred feet below. Ng was pronounced at the scene when the EMS crews responded. He died due to the blunt force trauma and the fall.

The accident on the I-30 involved an 18-wheeler that hit a pickup truck, causing a multiple vehicle crash. There were five cars, two semis, and two pickup trucks damaged in the collision. One man was killed.

The police reports for each of these accidents indicate that the road conditions were bad that day, but there were still some unanswered questions relating to both deadly crashes. While it was clear the roads were slick, questions remain about the drivers’ speeds and their other driving ability. It’s a driver’s responsibility to drive according to the road conditions, and if they were speeding, they were reckless and negligent.

Other questions that will need to be answered relate to whether the drivers of the vehicles that caused the accidents were doing something else at the time of the crashes rather than paying attention to their driving. For instance, were they on the phone, talking to another passenger, using a laptop or reaching to pick up something in the backseat. A moment’s inattention is enough to cause a fatal accident.

When it comes to determining liability in car crashes, it is important to know what the drivers were doing just prior to impact. A skilled Austin personal injury attorney is able to assess any auto crash case based on the evidence at the scene, the police reports and the facts of the case as told by the victim of the crash. In both the crashes in this article, the families of the deceased may wish to speak to a dedicated Austin personal injury attorney and discuss filing a wrongful death lawsuit.

Brooks Schuelke is an Austin personal injury attorney with Perlmutter & Schuelke PLLC. Contact an Austin injury lawyer at Civtrial.com or (512) 476-4944.