Crash Claims Life Of 85-Year Old Woman

Knoxville TV station WBIR reported on a fatal accident involving an 85-year old woman driving a pickup truck and a tractor-trailer in Scott County Tennessee. The article on the website for WBIR says that Edith Mae Marcum, 85, of Oneida was attempting a left turn from Highway 67 onto Highway 63, when  she pulled into the path of an oncoming tractor-trailer driven by William P. Renfo of Louisville. She was pronounced dean at the scene.

My heart and prayers go out to the family and friends of Ms. Marcum and we are thankful that Mr. Renfro was not seriously injured. The Center For Disease Control and Prevention has gathered some interesting facts about older drivers that I would like to share with you.

Older Adult Drivers: Fact Sheet

There are 30 million licensed drivers ages 65 and older in the United States. When injured in motor vehicle crashes, older drivers are more likely to die than younger drivers, underscoring the importance of older driver safety.

How big is the problem?

* More than 175,200 adults ages 65 and older were injured as occupants in motor vehicle crashes in the United States in 2006.

* There were 30 million licensed older drivers in 2006, a 18–percent increase from 1996. In contrast, the total number of licensed drivers increased by only 13 percent during the same time period.

* Drivers ages 80 and older have higher crash death rates per mile driven than all but teen drivers.

What are the risk factors, and who is at highest risk?

* Age–related decreases in vision, cognitive functions, and physical impairments may affect some older adults’ driving ability.

* Across all age groups, rates for motor vehicle-related fatalities are higher for men than for women.

* Older drivers are more likely than younger drivers to die from injuries they sustain in a motor vehicle crash.

Are there protective factors?

There are protective factors that may help improve older adults’ safety while driving:

* More than three-quarters (76%) of all older motor vehicle occupants (drivers and passengers) involved in fatal crashes were wearing seat belts at the time of the crash, compared to 62 percent for other adult occupants under age 65.

* Older adult drivers tend to drive when conditions are safest. They limit their driving during bad weather and at night and drive fewer miles than younger drivers.

* Older adult drivers are less likely to drink and drive than other adult drivers.

If you or a loved one is involved in a Nashville automobile accident involving an elderly driver contact the experienced Tennessee automobile accident attorney’s at Phillip Miller & Associates for a free consultation and find out about your rights and remedies.

Underage Driinking And Driving

Emergency crews helped to rescue 20-year old driver who was trapped in his SUV after he lost control and flipped the vehicle in downtown Knoxville. He was lucky this time, but thousands of underage drinkers who get behind the wheel of a motor vehicle every year end up dead, seriously injured or having to live the rest of their lives knowing that they caused the death of another human being.

According to an article on the website of Knoxville TV station WBIR, police found alcohol in the wreckage and suspect the driver was under the influence. “Anytime we have, especially a late game, we have more of a problem with alcohol,” Knoxville Police Sgt. Brian Evans said.  “People tend to party all day and they get behind a wheel of a car at night.  Hopefully this is an exception rather than a regular occurrence but anytime alcohol is involved with driving a vehicle usually the outcome is not very good.”

How right Sgt. Evans is. According to Tennessee Department of Transportation Commissioner Gerald Nicely, “Many teens feel that bad things will never happen to them, but fatal crashes involving teens happen every day,” he went on to say, “In 2007 alone, we lost 166 Tennessee teenagers in motor vehicle crashes. It is up to all of us to remind our teens to be safe behind the wheel every trip, every time.” According to the United States Department of Transportation National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of fatalities among teens in the United States.  In 2007 alone, 4,540 teen passenger vehicle occupants 16 to 20 years old were killed in motor vehicle crashes, and more than half (2,502) were unrestrained at the time of the fatal crash.

It’s our job to prevent under age drinking. Most programs focus on stepped up enforcement on the highway, increased enforcement on liquor and beer retailers who provide alcohol to young people and parents in an effort to have them set a good example for their children and to teach them the danger of drinking and driving.

If you or a loved on is injured in a Nashville automobile accident caused by an underage drunk driver contact the experienced Nashville automobile accident lawyers at Phillip Miller & Associates. We offer a free consultation so that you can get a complete picture of the hurdles you will face as you enter into the process of getting your vehicle and your body repaired.

Driving Drunk Is A Deadly Decision

The down-side of driving while drunk can go way down and it makes no difference whether you are a prominent businessman or a candle-stick maker, the authorities are going to do what is necessary to protect the public and punish the evil doers. A case in point happened in Jackson Mississippi back in February of this year. According to the Jackson Clarion-Ledger, Karen Irby, wife a prominent businessman was driving her Mercedes, after taking way drunk, in excess of 100 mph when she ran head-on into a pickup truck carrying Dr. Daniel Pogue and his fiancée, Dr. Lisa Hutchinson, killing both of them instantly. The lawyers and staff at Phillip Miller & Associates send our deepest condolences to the family and friends of Dr. Pogue and Dr. Hutchinson

Several important things have happened since then. Karen Irby was indicted in May on charges of murder with a depraved heart and aggravated assault in the doctors’ deaths. She also was indicted on aggravated assault for the injuries sustained by her husband and passenger, Stuart Irby. Karen Irby is out of jail on a $250,000 bond; her trial is set for March 29, 2010.

According to the Clarion-Ledger last week a wrongful death lawsuit was filed in Hinds County Circuit Court on behalf of the estates of the two deceased doctors. The lawsuit alleges Karen Irby’s negligence caused the fatal collision. Included in the acts of negligence are driving recklessly, driving while under the influence of alcohol and driving “at a time when she knew she might experience a ‘black out,’ ” the lawsuit alleges. The doctors’ estates are seeking $60 million in damages in the lawsuit filed against Karen Irby and her husband, Jackson businessman Stuart Irby.

According to the Center For Disease Control and Prevention every day, 36 people in the United States die, and approximately 700 more are injured, in motor vehicle crashes that involve an alcohol-impaired driver. The annual cost of alcohol-related crashes totals more than $51 billion.

When a driver under the influence makes the decision to drive they are not in control of the outcome of this act and, as in this case, the lives of two human beings were taken needlessly. They had their whole lives in front of them and those lives were taken away in a second by the selfish and stupid act of this person. The bad actor here will experience some changes in her life when she is sentenced to hard-time in the State Penitentiary and she and her husband lose all that they had worked for over the years.

If you or a loved one is injured by a Nashville drunk driver contact the experienced Nashville car accident attorneys at Phillip Miller & Associates and find out about your rights and remedies

Teenage Drivers Can Cause Problems

According to the Johnson City Press four people went to the hospital after a two-car collision on State Route 34 near Pioneer Market, according to the Washington County Sheriff’s Office. The accident was identified as a T-bone collision when a 16-year old male driver turned across the path of another car. The 16-year old was accompanied by another boy his age and all four people involved in the wreck were seen at the hospital. Both parties were cited for failure to produce insurance proof, but no citations of fault were issued. I don’t have enough information to say who was at fault here but it occurs to me that a driver must yield the right of way to oncoming traffic.

As an experienced Nashville automobile accident attorney I always pay particular attention to accidents involving teenagers, especially teenage boys. According to The Center For Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Nashville car accident attorneys, accounting for more than one in three deaths in this age group. In 2005, twelve teenagers 16 to 19 died every day from motor vehicle injuries.

The risk of motor vehicle crashes is higher among 16- to 19-year-olds than among any other age group. In fact, per mile driven, teen drivers ages 16 to 19 are four times more likely than older drivers to crash. In 2005, the motor vehicle death rate for male drivers and passengers ages 16 to 19 was more than one and a half times that of their female counterparts.

How big is the problem, and what are the costs?

In the United States during 2005, 4,544 teens ages 16 to 19 died of i. Injuries caused by motor vehicle crashes the same year, nearly 400,000 motor vehicle occupants in this age group sustained nonfatal injuries that required treatment in an emergency department. Overall, in 2005, teenagers accounted for 10 percent of the U.S. population and 12 percent of motor vehicle crash deaths.

If you or a loved one is injured in a Nashville automobile accident involving a teenage driver contact our experienced Nashville car accident attorneys at Phillip Miller & Associates and find out about your rights and remedies.

Young people ages 15-24 represent only 14% of the U.S. population. However, they account for 30% ($19 billion) of the total costs of motor vehicle injuries among males and 28% ($7 billion) of the total costs of motor vehicle injuries among females.

Fatal intersection Crash

The thoughts and prayers of the attorney’s and staff at Philip Miller & Associates go out to the family, friends and world-wide family of The University of the South, for the deaths of 19-year-old Kathryn “Katie” Christianson of Chattanooga and 18-year-old Kathleen Beech of Clarksville who were killed in the Thursday morning car/tractor-trailer crash in Franklin County. Two other students, Arden Jones, of Greenwood, VA, and Anna Summs, Cookeville, TN were injured and are in stable condition. The tractor-trailer driver was treated and released.

This fatal car/tractor-trailer wreck was immediately reported by a number of local media outlets (WHNT, WRCB TV, The Chattanoogan) and information is being updated on an hourly basis. WRCBTV in Chattanooga reported that the students were traveling to crew practice around 6 a.m. when their vehicle crossed US Highway 41A and was struck by the tractor-trailer.

According the Tennessee Highway Patrol; The preliminary investigation indicates that a 2007 Hyundai with four students from the University of the South turned into path of a northbound tractor trailer, killing two front seat occupants and injuring the rear seat passengers.

I have blogged about the dangers of intersections on a number of occasions and although intersections make-up a very small part of our highway and street network , studies show that almost half of our motor vehicle crashes occur there. Driving near and through intersections is truly one of the most complex conditions that drivers will encounter.

If you or a loved one is injured in a tractor-trailer accident contact the experienced accident lawyers at Phillip Miller & Associates and find out about your rights and remedies.