Who:
Judge Terri Johnson, 40, drove a 2009-era Volkswagen Passat the wrong way on Highway 287 close to Decatur, TX, around 6 PM Saturday evening, 4/26/14, and killed herself and Juan Jose Rios, 32; Sherry Ann Rios, 50; and Amy Dee Culwell, 35; who were driving in a 2009-era Chevrolet Trailblazer. A 4 year old girl in the Trailblazer was severely injured in the collision, but is expected to survive. Unfortunately, her parents did not.

How:
Slightly before 6PM, Johnson, who was traveling the wrong way (southbound) in the northbound SH 287 lane, drove head on into a northbound Trailblazer. The three adults in the Trailblazer and Johnson in the Passat were killed on impact, while the 4 year old, who was not restrained in a child seat, was ejected from the vehicle. Per the police, no evidence of alcohol has as yet been found. However, witnesses who’d called 911 reported seeing her driving erratically from one side of the road to the next in the minutes preceding the crash. A number of witnesses arrived at the scene immediately after the crash and attempted to offer aid to both vehicle’s occupants, including a number of truckers who put out the Trailblazer fire with extinguishers.

Why:
It is currently unknown why Johnson was driving the wrong way down a highway in broad daylight, although given the near 100% frequency with which alcohol or drugs are a factor in wrong way fatal collisions, I have to wonder if she was driving under the influence of said substances. What is absolutely certain is that the collision was the result of her actions, and that four individuals are dead and a child critically injured as a result.

Investigating the physics of the crash, the sheer number of fatalities is surprising and saddening. The 2009 Passat weighs 3435 lbs and comes with a “good” IIHS frontal score. It was impacted by a 2009 Trailblazer that weighs 4641 lbs, or 135% of the Passat’s weight and was rated only “acceptable” in its frontal score. As a result, the Passat driver automatically faced 35% more force in the collision than she would have if she’d collided with another Passat, placing her at a significant disadvantage in the collision. The Trailblazer occupants, meanwhile, experienced 26% lower forces due to the weight advantage. However, the “acceptable” score worked against them, significantly reducing the protection the vehicle should have afforded them.

Given the likely speeds of the collision (~65 mph, per witness reports), the collision likely imparted at least 889KJ of energy into the Passat. The Passat frontal impact test simulates 249KJ of energy (a Passat impacting another at 40 mph). In other words, the Passat driver faced 357% 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 next to zero.

The Trailblazer frontal test simulated 337KJ of energy (a Trailblazer impacting another at 40 mph), indicating that its occupants would have faced 195% of the forces the vehicle was rated to safely withstand, given that the Passat imparted 658KJ of energy into the Trailblazer.

This should have been a survivable collision for the Trailblazer’s occupants, but none of the adults did. Witness reports indicated that the vehicle may have been thrown several feet into the air by the force of the impact, which could have led to the deaths of the adults. Somehow, however, the child survived, despite not being restrained in a rear-facing seat and being partially ejected from the vehicle. A 4-year-old child should ideally be in a rear-facing seat, and if not, should definitely be in a forward-facing harnessed seat.

This was a completely preventable tragedy, and a potentially corruptly investigated one. The results of Johnson’s toxicology test stated she was not under the influence of any substances.

I don’t believe those results.

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