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Single car crash leaves one teenage girl dead

On Behalf of | Mar 15, 2019 | Car Accidents |

A fatal car accident in Virginia left one teenage girl dead and one woman seriously injured. The auto accident took place in the early afternoon at approximately 1:05 p.m. Only one vehicle was involved in the collision.

According to a press release by Virginia State Police, a 1999 Acura Integra was traveling west on Oak Ridge Road less than a mile from Diggs Mountain Road. A the vehicle began to drift to the right on the highway, the 22-year-old driver overcorrected, which caused the vehicle to go back onto the road and cross the center lane. The driver then overcorrected again, which caused the vehicle to go off to the right of the highway. The vehicle then hit a tree and an embankment before spinning around and turning over.

The driver received minor injuries as a result of the crash. The vehicle’s passengers, a 16-year-old girl from Nelson County and an 18-year-old woman from Shipman, were both seriously injured and were taken to UVA Medical Center as a result of their injuries. The 16-year-old died later that evening. According to police, no one in the vehicle was wearing a seat belt. The collision is still under investigation, and charges are pending.

Though there has been a push recently by the governor of West Virginia to address the state’s higher-than-average vehicle crash fatalities, the numbers have not dropped to the state’s goal. Experts speculate that distracted drivers and drunk drivers may be linked to the increase in fatalities. Drivers have the responsibility to follow the laws when operating a vehicle. If they don’t, they may be responsible. In this case, a lawyer may be able to interview accident witnesses, download the vehicle’s crash data and use accident reconstruction experts to determine if the driver of the vehicle was responsible for the accident. If they were, the family of the deceased girl and the injured woman may be able to seek damages.