Fixed Object Accident

In early June two people were killed in a car accident in Park Forest when the driver of the car struck a tree. One person fled the scene after the accident and the other two were transported to an Olympia Fields hospital, where the medical examiner pronounced that they were both killed in the crash.

Cars running into trees may seem like the least likely way cause of a fatal crash, but it happens more than one may think. According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), roughly 20 percent of all car accident fatalities result when a car leaves the roadway and strikes an inanimate object on the side of the road. Trees are among the most common types of fixed objects that cars strike and result in accident fatalities. Trees, in fact, according to IIHS, accounted for 50 percent of all fixed object crash fatalities in 2013, resulting in 3,604 deaths that year alone.

Utility poles and traffic barriers are among the other most common objects that are hit along the side of the road. Like the Park Forest accident, the vast majority of these types of accident occur at night.

Alcohol contributes to a large number of these types of accidents — when a person is driving impaired, he or she is often unable to control the vehicle from swerving off the road, or may not see an object close to the edge of the roadway. In 2013, alcohol contributed to 44 percent of fixed object accident fatalities. According to IIHS, falling asleep, driving too fast, inattention, or poor visibility (caused, for example, by poor weather conditions) are often other contributing factors to these types of accidents.

Adding to the problem, recent study found that traffic policies in most urban or suburban areas do not appropriately address the risks of roadside vegetation, according to The Forestry Source.

If you are injured in a fixed object accident, the most important first step is to seek legal counsel. Do not go through it alone. Contact an experienced Lake County accident attorney today.