Bellingham Child Killed in Truck Accident: Drugs and Alcohol Involved in Crash
As reported by kgmi.com, a Bellingham child was tragically killed yesterday in a collision between the car he was riding in and a truck that was heading north on Highway 9, south of Nooksack. According to a report by the State Patrol, the truck crashed into a vehicle that was driving south after the driver had pulled off the road and then entered back onto the roadway in the path of the northbound truck. The driver of the vehicle was injured but the truck driver was not. Troopers say drugs and alcohol were a factor in the crash.
Bellingham Child Killed in Truck Accident: Drugs and Alcohol Involved in Crash
Sadly, traffic accident fatalities are a daily reality that could be dramatically reduced or prevented with better driving choices. Speeding and alcohol usage are two of the leading factors in fatal crashes. Let’s take a look at some of the statistics related to truck vs. vehicle collisions on highways.
Car accidents leading cause of death for children
According to cdc.org, motor vehicle crashes are a leading cause of death among children in the United States. In 2018, 636 children 12 years old and younger were killed in traffic accidents. Of these children, 33 percent were not wearing seatbelts (where the use of restraint was known). The best thing that parents can do to keep their children safe while traveling in a vehicle is to make sure they are buckled up and using proper infant or child seats every single time.
Fatal highway crash statistics
IIHS reports that there were 33,654 fatal motor vehicle accidents in the United States in 2018. Out of these accidents, 36,560 people were killed. These collisions caused an average of 11.2 deaths per 100,000 people and 1.13 deaths per 100 million miles traveled. The fatality rate varies from state to state.
While there isn’t a lot of information available for highway crashes specifically, 2017 data from the Bureau of Transportation shows that speeding is the number one cited driver-related factor in fatal highway crashes.
Impaired driving
According to the 2018 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH), in 2018, 20.5 million people drove under the influence of alcohol that year and an additional 12.6 million drove under the influence of illegal drugs. According to data from CDC.gov, in the United States alone, one person tragically dies every 50 minutes in a drunk driving incident. According to the Governors Highway Safety Association, 43.6 percent of drivers who were fatally injured in 2016 tested positive for drugs and over half of those drivers had two or more drugs present in their system.
Commercial truck accident statistics
According to 2018 commercial truck accident statistics from IIHS.org, a total of 4,136 people died in large truck crashes. Sixteen percent of these deaths were truck drivers, 67 percent were passengers or drivers of cars and other passenger vehicles, and 15 percent were pedestrians, bicyclists or motorcyclists. Most truck accident fatalities are occupants in passenger vehicles hit by the truck.
Seek the help of a truck accident attorney
If you or a loved one was injured because of the negligence of another, contact a personal injury lawyer to discuss your legal rights. Let an experienced truck accident attorney fight for the full compensation that you deserve. It is not uncommon to receive a settlement from the insurance company that is five to ten times larger with the help of a lawyer. Call the personal injury lawyers at Tario & Associates, P.S. in Bellingham, WA today for a FREE consultation! We have been representing residents of Whatcom County, Skagit County, Island County and Snohomish County since 1979. You will pay nothing up front and no attorney fees at all unless we recover damages for you!
