A gruesome wrong-way crash after hijacking left one Los Angeles resident dead and several others injured.
A wrong-way driver caused a series of collisions on the freeway along the Los Angeles and San Bernardino county borders after her stolen pickup truck traveled at speeds of over 100 mph.
One man was injured and three other people were severely injured in 7-vehicle crash after a woman, identified as Nicole Thibault, stole a silver pickup truck in the 700 blocks of West Highland Avenue in San Bernardino, and headed in the wrong direction.
After stealing the truck, the suspect realized that there was a 4-year-boy in the vehicle. She dropped the child at a nearby sidewalk (the boy was unharmed). Then the woman caused multiple head-on collisions after she turned the truck around and traveled down the freeway in the wrong directions.
Our best Los Angeles car accident attorney at Compass Law Group P.C., who has seen quite a few horrifying car crashes in Los Angeles over the past decade, says this wrong-way seven-car crash was one of the worst the county has seen in the past 10 years.
Consequences of wrong-way crashes?
After the gruesome multiple-vehicle car crash, all lanes of the eastbound 210were shut down for several hours. The only fatality of the wrong-way crash resulted from a high-speed head-on collision. Three other people, plus the suspect, were severely injured.
Investigators said wreckage and debris from the seven scary collisions were scattered all over the roadway over a span of at least several hundred feet.
But closing all lanes and causing traffic jams is not the only consequence of a wrong-way crash. Our car accident attorneys in Los Angeles outline the most common injuries caused by wrong-way driving and head-on collisions (as the most widespread form of wrong-way crashes):
- Brain injuries
- Broken bones and fractures
- Concussion
- Back and neck injuries
- Internal organ injuries and bleeding
- Lacerations
- Contusions
It is estimated that head-on collisions account for more than 10% of all road accident fatalities in the U.S. It’s fair to say that this type of car accident is one of the deadliest in Los Angeles.
Causes of wrong-way driving in Los Angeles
While our car accident attorneys at Compass Law Group P.C. say that the vast majority of all wrong-way crashes are caused by drunk and marijuana-impaired drivers, the following factors can result in wrong-way driving even among sober motorists:
- Missing signage along the road (distracted driving);
- Improperly placed signage;
- Heavy vegetation or poor lighting that makes seeing traffic signage impossible;
- Driving on unfamiliar freeways and roadways;
- Road construction;
- Improperly marked roads.
Wrong-way car accidents can be difficult to litigate, as insurance companies will have to establish the chain of events leading up to the collision and determine what caused wrong-way driving in the first place.
But insurers in Los Angeles may not the most reliable party to handle an investigation of your car accident, as their investigation tends to be biased in order to minimize the cost of your claim and settlement.
That’s why it’s critical to seek legal help of a Los Angeles car accident attorney if you have been a victim of a wrong-way crash. Let us help you get compensation for your injuries and damages by investigating the incident fairly.
Wrong-way driving, and subsequently, head-on collisions, can leave you temporarily or permanently disabled. Not to mention the enormous checks for medical, recovery and rehabilitation expenses, and other expenses associated with a head-on crash.
