Who:

Debra Sue Oehmke, 56, died in Charlotte, NC, on 5/7/14 close to Collingham Drive by the 10500 block of Steele Creek Rd. She drove a 2013 Volkswagen Passat and was hit by Trungquan Le Tran, 23, at around 9:03 AM. Tran drove a 2009 Honda Accord into her car. Oehmke was believed to have been heading to work, where she worked as an accountant. Tran was uninjured.

How:

Tran was southbound on Steel Creek Rd when he fell asleep. He crossed the double yellow, encountered oncoming traffic, and hit the northbound Passat head-on. Oehmke required extrication, was airlifted, and died that day at the hospital. Tran was arrested and faces a misdemeanor death by vehicle charge. Police stated neither speed nor alcohol factored in the crash. Both individuals wore seat belts.

Sadly, this collision was completely preventable. Tran fell asleep on the road. He almost certainly felt sleepy ahead of time, but judged himself capable of driving safely. An innocent victim is dead as a result of this error.

The 2013 Passat weighs 3212 lbs and comes with a “good” IIHS frontal score. It was impacted by a 2009 Accord, that weighs roughly 3386 lbs, or 105% of the Passat’s weight.  As a result, the vehicles essentially crashed into their twins, and the weight differences were insignificant.

Given the likely speeds of the collision (~55 mph), the collision likely imparted at least 464KJ of energy into the Passat. The Passat frontal impact test simulates 232KJ of energy (a Passat impacting another at 40 mph). In other words, the Passat driver faced 200% of the force she’d have experienced in the type of crash her car was rated for. Given the speed of the collision, her odds of survival were still significant, as most of the frontal crashes I research at this percentage of forces appear to be survivable. I don’t know why she was as severely injured as she was. The survival of Tran without any injuries further underscores my venture that both individuals should easily have survived the collision. The advanced age of Oehmke would have placed her at a greater risk of injury, and this likely played a role in the severity of her injuries.

This was an unfortunate tragedy that could have been prevented if Tran had simply pulled over when he felt sleepy.

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