Drunk driving, drowsy driving and distracted driving seem to be the “3-Ds” when it comes to motor vehicle crashes. Each one presents the same dangers to everyone traveling Ohio’s roadways, but one has risen rapidly in the rank in recent years. Distracted driving is a factor in far too many car accidents here and elsewhere across the country.
Police suspect distracted driving played a role in a recent crash that caused serious injuries to a woman traveling in a vehicle in the northbound lanes of Interstate 75. It was around 6:45 p.m. on a Friday night when another vehicle in the southbound lanes veered off the road and into the median, where it flipped into the northbound lanes. The out-of-control vehicle then slammed into the vehicle occupied by a woman, her husband and her 3-year-old son.
While the injured woman was transported via helicopter to the hospital, her son and husband went to another for treatment of injuries not considered life-threatening. Amazingly, the wrong-way driver reportedly suffered no injuries. Troopers with the Ohio State Highway Patrol have not yet verified what distracted the southbound driver in the moments prior to the crash, along with what charges, if any, he will face.
Even if authorities do not charge him with a criminal offense in connection with the crash, the victims retain the right to file personal injury claims. Ohio law allows victims of car accidents to pursue restitution for damages incurred as a result of another party’s negligence or recklessness. A successfully litigated claim could result in a civil court awarding a monetary judgment to the victims.
