A woman was killed in a three-car accident on I-65 Wednesday afternoon.
According to officials, 47-year-old Melissa Morris of Nashville, Indiana,
died when the vehicle she was driving ended up in the middle of a horrific
crash. Two people in that same car were taken by helicopter to the hospital.
They are said to have life-threatening injuries. The accident occurred
near State Road 46 on southbound I-65 when Morris’s vehicle was
crushed between another vehicle that rear-ended hers and a semi truck
that was ahead of her. The investigation into this tragic collision is ongoing.
Chain-Reaction Accidents Among Most Dangerous
Chain-reaction accidents are some of the
most dangerous crashes on the roadways. Usually, as with the accident on I-65, chain-reaction
collisions happen as a result of one vehicle rear-ending another. From
there, a line of cars are forced into one another in a chain of rear-end
collisions.
One of the reasons chain-reaction or multiple-vehicle accidents are so
dangerous is because additional risks exists beyond the initial collision
itself. The impact of multiple vehicles can mean that cars are crushed,
leaving injured victims unable to be removed from their vehicles quickly
in order to receive necessary medical treatment. Even if a driver or passenger
is able to extricate him or herself from the vehicle, there is a risk
of being hit by another vehicle. This can be especially true in large
pile-ups caused by weather conditions. In the case of such accidents,
slippery roadways can cause major pile-ups with one vehicle after another
attempting and failing to avoid the accident.
Determining Fault in a Multi-Vehicle Accident
“Negligence” is the underlying legal theory under which liability
must be proved in a chain-reaction accident. In short, this means determining
which driver’s wrong, careless, or reckless actions were responsible
for the crash. In many cases, multiple drivers are found to have been
negligent. In these instances, liability will be apportioned out based
on a court’s findings of how much each driver contributed to the accident.
Multi-vehicle accidents often turn on the rule of the road that requires
drivers to leave an appropriate and safe distance between themselves and
other vehicles. Even if a road hazard or other obstacles plays a role
in the accident, the driver of the car can still be found liable. The
safe following distance rule is intended to force drivers to leave enough
room for navigation around obstacles or hazards, so the presence of an
obstacle does not automatically let the driver off the hook. It may, however,
lessen the liability of the driver.
If someone you love has been killed or injured in a multi-vehicle accident,
you may have a personal injury or
wrongful death case against the responsible party. Damages awarded in car accident cases
can provide for medical care, lost wages, pain and suffering, funeral
expenses, loss of companionship and services. Call the vehicular accident
attorneys of Wagner Reese at (888) 204-8440 today to find out how we
can help. The initial consultation is completely free.
