Sharing the roadway is a part of daily life; however, for some who embark on a simple, ordinary drive, the result is anything but ordinary. Oregon’s Interstate 5 was the location of Medford, Oregon’s most recent fatal collision, according to OregonLive.com. As authorities continue the automobile crash investigation, sources indicate that alcohol appears to have been involved. The victim was a 68-year-old woman from Ashland, Oregon. Authorities indicate that she was on her way home from work around 3:15 a.m. She was employed by Emergency Communications of Southern Oregon. An otherwise ordinary late-night commute was interrupted when another vehicle collided with hers. The vehicle, driven by a 32-year-old Grants Pass, Oregon, resident, was in the right-hand southbound lane of the highway, causing a head-on collision with the victim. The victim was ejected from her vehicle and pronounced dead at the scene of the accident. The driver of the truck who caused the accident suffered serious injuries and was taken to a nearby medical center. A photo from the crash scene shows a nearly unrecognizable vehicle, which the article indicates is the truck driven by the man who caused the accident. The victim’s car is not pictured. Oregon State Police troopers are leading the criminal investigation, and are asking witnesses to come forward with information. As authorities gathered information to fully understand the fatal accident, they have been in the process of connecting a report of a vehicle with a matching description to the one that caused the accident. The vehicle was described as “sideways on the southbound off-ramp” at an exit nearly three miles south of the accident scene.
Multnomah County traffic crash data presents dismal news
The Oregon Department of Transportation provided a report of traffic accident statistics from 2001 to 2010. Crashes with reported fatalities and injuries had dipped to 4,309 in 2007, but rose steadily each year thereafter, with 5,862 reported in 2010. The statistics also indicate that roughly half of all crashes involving fatalities reported in Multnomah County also involved alcohol. Night-time crashes resulting in fatalities and injuries also rose steadily from 2007 to 2010, with 650 reported in 2007 and 884 reported just three years later. The National Highway Traffic Safety Association’s 2008 report indicates that nationally, drunk driving has decreased in recent years. While there was a 10 percent decrease in these accidents from 2007 to 2008, an average of one alcohol-related fatality takes place in America every 45 minutes. Drunk driving fatalities accounted for nearly one-third of all traffic fatalities nationwide. If you or someone you love has been a victim of a motor vehicle accident caused by a dangerous and impaired driver, you deserve recovery for your loss. Ensuring that you have an experienced automobile accident attorney on your side can provide you with the assistance you need to get the recovery you deserve.