New Jersey residents should be wary when traveling at high speeds on highways and freeways as chain-reaction car crashes are more likely to occur. A three-car crash near on a Virginia interstate resulted in the death of a 54-year-old man and minor injuries to three of his passengers in a 2007 Honda. Proceeding westbound in the early evening of Dec. 22, the vehicle struck the rear of a 2013 Audi sedan, causing both drivers to lose control.
At the scene, investigating officers determined that the decedent’s Honda also struck a 2010 Nissan, which proceeded in the same direction. While the Audi ran off the road and struck a tree, the Nissan met the highway guardrail on the left side of the road and was spun toward the center median.
Drivers of the two cars struck by the Honda survived the accident with non-life-threatening injuries. At the time of reporting, police had not determined the cause of the initial collision.
The high speeds of interstate driving can bring about a fatal car accident in situations that, at lower speeds, would mean much lighter damage and less risk of serious injury or death. When one car strikes the rear of another, the driver of the car in back is generally at fault because drivers are expected to give themselves room to stop safely, depending on road conditions and visibility. Even when the vehicles leave the road, investigating officers can usually determine fault when one car has suffered rear-end damage. If a third car is involved, liability still rests with the car that initially set off the chain reaction and not with the driver who was originally struck.
Source: mycentraljersey.com, “3-car crash on Interstate 78 in Warren kills Virginia man“, Everett Merrill, December 23, 2014