Fatal Tractor Trailer Crash in Spartanburg County, South Carolina

Thirty-seven-year-old Jessica Lyn Wright was killed Monday when her 2009 Ford car was involved in a collision with a tractor trailer and a South Carolina Department of Transportation dump truck. The accident happened on the southbound side of Interstate 85, between the Brockman-McClimon Road and Greenville-Spartanburg International Airport exits, near Greer, South Carolina. The collision, which happened at about 9:50 AM, is still under investigation. Ms. Wright was pronounced dead upon her arrival at Spartanburg Regional Medical Center at 10:53 AM. She had been partially ejected from her vehicle, and was airlifted to the hospital from the scene. The tractor trailer driver and the dump truck driver were both uninjured. At the time of the accident, Sixty-six-year-old Charles Ray Smith, of Casar, North Carolina, was driving the tractor trailer, and Twenty-two-year-old James Michael Pridemore, of nearby Inman, South Carolina, was driving the dump truck.

This was the third wreck of the morning along that stretch of I-85, as traffic was backed up throughout the morning hours. One of the earlier wrecks also involved tractor trailers. In that accident, a tractor trailer driver did not slow down in time to avoid traffic ahead of it, ran into a Honda Civic automobile, and then sideswiped another 18-wheeler. The at-fault tractor trailer driver was charged with following too closely.

The cause of the accident which caused the fatality is unknown, and the investigation is still ongoing by the South Carolina Highway Patrol, according to Lance Corporal Bill Rhyne.

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Avoid Halloween Car and Pedestrian Traffic Accidents in South Florida

With Halloween falling on the weekend this year, South Florida residents should be extra careful when trick or treating in their neighborhoods. This includes heavily settled areas in Fort Myers, Fort Lauderdale, and Miami, Florida.

Halloween is a time when children are literally running through the roads and streets -- adding extra responsibility on parents and drivers to avoid Florida car and pedestrian accidents. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), citing an article from Parents Magazine, recommends parents use common sense when preparing their children for Halloween:
Make sure costumes and shoes fit, so children aren't tripping over themselves
Supervise young children who go out trick or treating
Teach children to look both ways before crossing the street and to cross at intersections
Keep children in well-lit areas only
Create a safe neighborhood zone that limits children's Halloween travels to only houses they know (and teach children to stay away from dark houses, decrepit houses, or houses with barking or loose dogs -- even Florida premises liability law cannot stop a dog bite or fall causing injury from happening)

As experienced Fort Lauderdale accident injury attorneys and parents ourselves, we know how precious children are to their families. Be careful out there this Halloween season, so the scares you experience are only of the fun candy-corn and costumes variety.

Other South Florida Halloween Driving Safety Issues
In addition, NHTSA cites thousands of motor vehicle crashes every year during Halloween week -- in part due to adults' partying with alcohol. As with any holiday celebration, the risk of being involved a drunk driving accident increases as people drive home from bars and parties.

NHTSA also urges police departments to be on extra alert in college towns (such as Boca Raton, Coral Gables, Miami and Tampa, Florida), where students are likely to be drinking and partying more during Halloween week.

Child Pedestrian Safety Education
NHTSA, Sept. 2009 (PDF)

Related Web Resource
Are you Halloween prepared? Safety tips with a Parenting magazine expert
Yahoo.com Oct. 12, 2010

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South Florida Driving Safety & Senior Citizens : NTSB Conference Looks at Elderly Driving and Car Accidents

Florida is home to a significant population of senior citizens -- including snowbirds who come for the balmy winters and decide to make Florida their year-round homes. Native Floridians know a good thing when they have it, and seniors who were born in Florida may never leave. Why go anywhere else when the best weather, beaches, and golf courses are right here in Florida?

What makes Florida an attractive winter and retirement destination for senior citizens means more older drivers motoring around South Florida communities and highways.

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) held a two-day conference on the growing population of elderly drivers and driving safety risks. While one study shows that seniors are actually involved in fewer serious motor vehicle accidents than in years past -- the aging Baby Boomer generation means more and more seniors will be taking to the roads in the coming years.

The CDC believes car crashes involving older drivers may be down in part due to the fact that older people tend to drive less and for shorter distances. Those who are in Florida nursing homes and retirement communities may use other forms of transportation available -- while some may give up their keys willingly or when their children ask them to stop driving for safety and/or medical reasons.

The most tragic auto accidents involving senior citizen drivers in Florida and elsewhere -- those where seniors lose control of their cars and crash into people, buildings, and other vehicles, sometimes with injuries and fatalities -- tend to make the headlines. Though the statistics indicate the issue of elderly drivers and car accidents is not worsening, states want to prepare for the influx of older drivers as the Boomer generation ages -- and shows no signs of slowing down.

The NTSB says it will continue to study the issue of elderly drivers and driving safety, as individual states work on their regulations regarding licensing, driver education, and driver testing. Florida put the Florida Grand Driver education program in place for people ages 65 plus (see link below).

NTSB forum examines growing population of elderly drivers
The Washington Post Nov. 9, 2010

NTSB: Symposia on Safety Mobility and Aging Drivers

Related Web Resources

Florida Grand Driver

AAA Foundation: SeniorDrivers.org

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