Fatal Tennessee Child Fatality

It may sound like a one time event when a wife jumps out of a tractor-trailer as it rolls down an interstate highway and gets run over by the trailer wheels. But, an Arkansas highway fatality involving a Tennessee married couple is the second such fatal accident, with these very same facts, that I have reported on this year.

According to local media reports a 45-year-old woman was riding with her husband when she opened the door of the truck’s cab and jumped out. Accident investigators are investigating the circumstances surrounding the why and the how of her death.

In another tragic Tennessee highway fatality a Chattanooga man is charged with vehicular homicide after his one-year-old baby son died of head injuries following a high speed loss of control accident. The child was not secured in a child safety seat when the speeding vehicle went out of control, flipped over and crashed into an embankment.

The use of safety belts, child restraint safety seats and child booster seats, is required by Tennessee law. They can help save you and your passengers’ lives in the event of a traffic crash.

If you or a loved one is injured or killed in a Tennessee automobile accident contact the experienced Nashville automobile accident attorneys at Phillip Miller & Associates and find out about your rights and remedies.

Roadway Departure Crash

Experienced Tennessee automobile accident lawyers agree that distraction from the primary task of driving could present a serious and potentially deadly danger. In 2008, 5,870 people lost their lives and an estimated 515,000 people were injured in police-reported crashes in which at least one form of driver distraction was reported on the crash report. While these numbers are signi!cant, they may not state the true size of the problem, since the identification of distraction and its role in the crash by law enforcement can be very difficult.

We may never learn the reason Jeffrey Knight, age, 40, became distracted and left the road, crossed the median and crashed head-on with another vehicle causing the death of 21-year-old Brittany Thomas and her 10-month-old son. Whatever the distraction, finding out will be little consolation to the family and friends of this young mother and her child. My prayers go out to the loved ones who have sustained such and indescribable loss.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration driver inattention is the leading factor in most crashes. Nearly 80 percent of crashes and 65 percent of near-crashes involved some form of driver inattention within three seconds before the event.  Primary causes of driver inattention are distracting activities, such as cell phone use, and drowsiness. Each of these accidents had the potential to have taken numerous other lives but somehow that didn’t happen

As an experienced Nashville automobile accident attorney we know that these crashes are referred to as “Roadway Departure Crashes” (RDCs). The Federal Highway Administration defines a RDC as a non-intersection crash that occurs when a vehicle crosses an edge line or a centerline, or otherwise leaves the traveled way.

According to the Federal Highway Administration roadway departure crashes are frequently severe and account for the majority of highway fatalities. In 2008, there were 19,794 fatal roadway departure crashes resulting in 22,080 fatalities, which was 53 percent of the fatal crashes in the United States. FHWA uses the Fatal Analysis Reporting System (FARS) compiled by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to compute statistics on roadway departure crashes.

If you or a loved one is injured or killed in a Tennessee car crash by a distracted driver or a case like the present one that will require and experienced Tennessee automobile accident lawyer contact the lawyers at Phillip Miller & Associates for a free consultation to learn about your rights and remedies.

On February 11, 2010 in my Blog “The Tennessee Auto Accident Attorney” I reported on a Hit & Run incident in which a 7-year-old Hartsville Cub Scout was killed. I often write about our collective responsibility to create a culture of traffic safety and that includes being the eyes of law enforcement as we travel the highways and byways of Tennessee. Many people will avoid getting involved if they see a drunk driver or a road rager acting the fool, but ladies and gentlemen, if we don’t do it, who will.

In that vein I’m asking each and every one of you to commit to keeping your eyes open and help us run to ground the dirty rotten scoundrel who killed that young boy. Investigators with the TBI Crime Lab and the Tennessee Highway Patrol believe they have a new description of the vehicle that hit and killed the child.

Investigators believe based on evidence gathered at the scene of the crash – that the vehicle that kept going was either a GMC Sierra or Yukon made between the years 2001 to 2006. The exact color of the vehicle isn’t yet known, but it has heavy damage to the right front headlight and the turn signal assembly area.

Call the Tennessee Highway Patrol or the Trousdale County Sheriff if you know of a car matching this description, especially if it’s been repaired lately. If you want to learn more about what to do in the event of a traffic accident take a minute and check out the website of Phillip Miller & Associates. You will find all sorts of helpful advice and you can meet the experienced Nashville automobile accident attorneys that can take care of all of your business.

Hit & Run

Of all of the people and situations I have run into over the years as a Tennessee automobile accident lawyer, Hit & Run drivers are, in my consideration, the worst kind of human being. Most H&R drivers are under the influence of alcohol, others have already run afoul of the law and have lost their driving privileges, yet they continue to get behind the wheel and ignore the rules.

Many H&R drivers are trying to avoid detection because they don’t have insurance and they don’t want to face the responsibility for their actions. No matter which category they fall into they are the very worst type of person, someone who will leave an injured or dying child in the lying in the street.

Reference a recent Hit & Run accident in Hartsville, Tennessee that left a 7-year-old boy dead. As he returned home the young man crossed the street to pick up a neighbors trash can that had blown into the yard. He was struck by a mid-sized car that sped off and away from the scene.

If you or a loved one is injured or killed in a Tennessee automobile accident by a drunk Hit & Run driver, recovering damages for your loss can be a tricky proposition and you will need an experienced Tennessee automobile accident attorney to help you protect your rights. At Phillip Miller & Associates we can help you.

Child Fatality

As an experienced Tennessee automobile accident attorney I’m always saddened when someone is fatally injured in a Tennessee automobile accident, but it is particularly sad when a child is the victim. I speak often in this Blog about the importance of following a couple of simple rules in snow and icy weather conditions, the most important of which is that children are often out of school during these bad weather periods and we must pay particular attention to any children in the area.

Reference a recent article on Knoxville TV station WATE’s website reporting the death of a 15 year-old boy whose sled ran up under a passing vehicle driven by a 32-year-old man. The boy was drug some distance before the man came to a stop. The boy died at the hospital. The man, meanwhile, was cited for failure to have proof of insurance and for driving on a suspended license. He should not even have been behind the wheel of a motor vehicle. Keeping from being distracted under normal driving circumstances is difficult enough but winter weather requires us to pay close attention to everthing going on around us. My prayers go out to the family and friend of this young man.

The fact that the driver, according to the article, did not have insurance creates a serious problems for the parents if they seek to be compensated for their loss, but an experienced Nashville automobile accident lawyer like those you will find at Phillip Miller & Associates can help you work through all of those types of problems. Take advantage of a free consultation to find out about your rights and remedies.