Rollover Accidents and Seat Belts

IB Contributor

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Here are two news stories of today showing us why we all must wear seat belts and why children must be properly restrained in car seats, when riding in automobiles and the consequeces of our choices. There are more than 10,000 automobile rollover accident deaths a year in the U.S. The majority of those people would be alive today if they had been wearing seat belts or were otherwise properly restrained in car seats.

A Chicago toddler being held by his mother died when the family's van overturned on Interstate 80 about seven miles west of Elko. Juana Pintor, 24, was holding her son, Victor Manuel Reyes, 2, on her lap about 9 p.m. Monday when the eastbound 2000 Mercury van driven by VictorLeon Reyes, 28, drifted into the median, causing van to roll several times. The boy and his mother, not restrained by seatbelts, were ejected, Nevada Highway Patrol Trooper George Edwards reported. The mother and daughter Maria Pricila Reyes Pintor, 4, were flown to Northern Nevada Regional Hospital with serious injuries. The driver and passenger Lazaro Varez, 23, wore seatbelts and were not injured.

Thirty people a DAY die in rollover automobile accidents. Fifteen people a DAY could have been saved if they were properly belted or in child car seats. More American lose their lives every day on our highways due to failure to wear seat belts than we lose in the wars Iraq and Afghanistan.

Yes, sometimes seat belts do fail sometimes. It is rare. When someone is seriously injured partially due to a seat belt failure, call us. We will hold the automaker responsible for those injuries. Play the odds, "buckle up." Please.

Now compare this story:

A Las Vegas family escaped with minor injuries Sunday after the vehicle they were traveling in overturned about 25 miles north of Ely. William Walo was driving northbound on U.S. Highway 93 at about 3:30 p.m. Sunday when his vehicle drifted off the paved portion of the roadway and struck a road marker. According to Nevada Highway Patrol Trooper George Edwards, Walo then over-steered his vehicle to the left in an attempt to regain the roadway and lost control.. The vehicle overturned, and landed on the east side of the roadway. Walo and his family were wearing their seat belts at the time of the accident. Walo, his wife Karen, and their children Jacob and Katherine were transported to William Bee Ririe Hospital for treatment of minor injuries. The Nevada Highway Patrol urges travelers to refrain from driving if they're tired. Travelers should get plenty of rest before they hit the road, and everyone should always buckle up.

For more information on this subject, please refer to our section on Car and Motorcycle Accidents.