The cause of some traffic accidents is obvious. The position and physical condition of the vehicles after the collision, weather conditions or eye witness statements can provide all the information that is required to understand what happened. In other accidents, the cause is not obvious, and law enforcement officers often spend hours investigating potential causes. A recent collision on Interstate-55 just north of Louisiana Highway 442 is an accident that appears to fall into the latter category.
A Honda Civic and a GMC Sierra were traveling north on I-55 with the Sierra in the left hand lane and the Honda in the right hand lane. According to police the two vehicles collided. Both veered off the roadway and struck trees. The driver of the Honda, a 45-year-old woman from New Orleans, and her passenger, a 23-year-old woman also from New Orleans, and an unnamed backseat passenger were seriously injured and were taken to a nearby hospital for treatment. The driver of the Sierra was not injured.
The driver of the Honda and the front-seat passenger died from their injuries after reaching the hospital. The condition of the third woman was not disclosed. Police said that both drivers were wearing seatbelts, but the two passengers in the Honda were not.
The Louisiana State Police did not release any information about the cause of the accident, but the possibilities are many. While the news report did not say anything about possible contact between the vehicles before they left the road, it is fair to assume that the vehicles side-swiped each other and this collision caused both drivers to lose control of their vehicles. A key question is whether one of the vehicles had crossed into the other lane before the vehicles made contact. A second question is whether either of the drivers was impaired by alcohol or drugs. The police report was silent on this factor. A third question is the mechanical condition of the sedan and the truck. Were the brakes sound? Was the steering mechanism in good repair?
Anyone who has been injured or lost a loved one in a similar accident may wish to pursue a claim for damages against whichever driver was at fault. In pursuing such a claim, the assistance of a capable auto accident attorney can be very helpful in gathering and evaluating the evidence and in providing an estimate of the likelihood of recovering damages for medical expenses, lost past and future income and pain and suffering.