Who:

Dwayne Borbua, 21, from Springfield, MA, died shortly past midnight on Thursday, 5/29/14, in Springfield, MA in a single vehicle collision in a 2005-era Volvo XC90. The collision occurred close to St. James Ave. and Page Boulevard.

How:

Per police reports, they responded to a single vehicle collision at the aforementioned scene and discovered the XC90 empty. They then received another call about a disturbance at a local emergency department. There, they met an individual who stated he had found his friend, who had been driving the XC90, in the overturned vehicle, and had taken him in his vehicle to the emergency department. Borbua died shortly after. Police stated they also found narcotics within the XC90 upon returning to the scene, and stated that speed was likely a factor in the collision.

Why:

A few things to take from this unfortunate collision include the importance of driving safely and attentively at the speed limit, the importance of wearing one’s seat belts, and the importance of keeping crash victims within the vehicle of the crash until trained professionals arrive unless there is an imminent need to remove them.

It is unclear why Borbua rolled his vehicle, but it was almost certainly due to speeding, as he did not come into contact with any other vehicles, and the XC90 is equipped with ESC, reducing the odds of rollovers. It is likely that he traveled at a high rate of speed and lost control during a turn. Given the presence of drugs in the vehicle, it is possible that he may have been driving impaired.

Furthermore, it is also likely that he was not wearing his seat belt, as given the safety of the XC90, the visibly deployed airbags, and the structural integrity of the passenger compartment as visible in the images, the vehicle should have been able to protect him in a single vehicle rollover that did not put the vehicle in contact with trees or traffic.

Finally, removing him from the vehicle may have put Borbua at greater risk if he had suffered internal, spinal, or cranial trauma, which was likely due to his being involved in a rollover while unbelted. In such situations, unless the vehicle is on fire or at risk of imminent destruction, the job of witnesses is to call emergency services and provide support to the victim until paramedics arrive.

This is a sad reminder that no vehicle, even one as safe as an XC90, is capable of protecting every individual from every crash, especially when drivers engage in high risk behaviors.

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