A Placentia woman has succumbed to injuries sustained in a massive six-car pileup car accident on Interstate 15 in Yermo on Friday, September, 1, 2012 according to the Desert Dispatch. Grace Imai, 74, was traveling northbound on I-15 Friday with her husband when they were rear-ended by another vehicle. The ensuing collision led to a multi-car pileup in which six vehicles were eventually involved.
Imai was airlifted to the hospital where she died of her injuries on Sunday morning. There is no current report of how many people were ultimate injured in the collision.
The California Highway Patrol is currently investigating the accident.
Rear-End Collisions Are the Most Common Type
According to the Department of Transportation, rear-end collisions are the most common type of car accidents, accounting for about 40 percent of all collisions. However, most rear-end collision do not result in death because the majority of them occur at relatively low speeds. The most common scenario for a rear-end collision is when a car stopped for a traffic signal or to yield to oncomi
ng traffic for a turn is rear-ended by another driver who is unable to stop in time. These accidents usually result in relatively minor injuries such as whiplash. However, when rear-end collisions occur at high speeds, they are often deadly because they push the lead car into other cars or off the road.
This Accident Shows The Dangers of Following Too Closely
Many people engage in “tailgating” on the freeways. This means that if a car ahead of you is not going fast enough for your liking but you are unable to pass at the moment, you run very close to the back bumper, perhaps by way of encouraging the driver to speed up. This is very dangerous behavior and can result in serious injury or death if the lead driver suddenly has to brake for an obstruction or another vehicle.
Liability Issues
With very few exceptions, the driver who causes a rear-end collision is liable for injuries and fatalities that result. Rear-end collisions are very hard to justify because drivers are supposed to have control of their vehicles at all times. On the other hand, until a professional car accident attorney examines the facts of the case, it will be impossible to make a definitive statement about who is liable for the death of this unfortunate victim.
