Athens Wrong Way Drive Causes Fatal Head-On Collision

Once again a wrong way driver is responsible for taking innocent lives.  Two brothers were killed Sunday in a head-on collision near Athens when they crossed the median.  Police say the wreck happened about 5:15 p.m. on U.S. 29 in Clarke County.

The driver was headed northbound in a Mitsubishi, crossed the median and struck a 2009 Honda Accord head-on. After the impact, the Mitsubishi caught fire and both driver and passenger died. The victim of the crash and her passengers, including a 10-year old girl, were taken to Athens Regional Medical Center for treatment.

I’m sorry for the loss of both families.  These types of deaths are never expected and hard to accept, especially as parents.  I hope the injured women and little girl recover quickly and are able to lead normal lives again. 

Sadly, it seems more and more people are losing their lives because of these types of accidents.  Of the 42,643 people who died on the Nation’s highways in 2003, more than 25,000 deaths (or 59 percent) occurred when vehicles left their lanes or ran off the road (ROR) and crashed, reports the Federal Highway Administration.

So what makes drivers cross the median and crash head-on into oncoming traffic?  Most of the time it’s a distraction that causes these tragic accidents: Nationwide data shows that 1 in 5 non-intersection fatal crashes involve two vehicles crashing head-on. 75% of these crashes occur on undivided two-lane roads.  30% of the deaths are persons under the age of 25.

If these injuries and deaths from wrong way injuries are to stop, drivers who cause them must be held responsible for their careless and negligent ways.

 CA.