Who:

Holly O’Neal, 37, in Norwalk township, died at approximately 6:50 AM on Whittlesey Road, to the north of Lais Road. She drove a 2001 Honda Civic, and crossed the center line while northbound to crash into a southbound 2007 Dodge Nitro that Mylinda Johnson, 39, was driving with two children, Kayla, 14, and Luke, 14. All occupants in the Nitro were injured.

How:

Per reports, O’Neal was northbound, lost control, and veered to the left over the center line, prompting the head-on collision.  She was wearing her seat belt, but died at the scene. Mylinda and Kayla, her front seat passenger, were severely injured. Kayla was not wearing her seat belt, while Luke, who was only mildly injured, was in the right rear passenger seat, and did wear his belt. Mylinda was wearing her belt.

Why:

This unfortunate case appears to have been the result of weather-related conditions. It’s unclear why O’Neil lost control, but multiple residents reported the weather was poor on the morning of the crash, and the images clearly indicate a mixture of rain and snow in the surrounding environment. It is possible that, had her vehicle been equipped with ESC, O’Neal might have been able to maintain control of her Civic.

Investigating the physics of the crash, it is not surprising that O’Neal died while the Nitro occupants lived, as her vehicle was massively outweighed by theirs. The 2001 Civic weighs 2507 lbs and comes with a “good” IIHS frontal score. It was impacted by a 2007 Nitro, essentially a Jeep Liberty, that weighs 4319 lbs, or 172% of the Civic’s weight.  As a result, the Civic driver automatically faced 72% more force in the collision than she would have if she’d collided with another Civic, placing her at a severe disadvantage in the collision. The Nitro occupants, meanwhile, experienced 58% lower forces.

Given the likely speeds of the collision (~55 mph), the collision likely imparted at least 592KJ of energy into the Civic. The Civic frontal impact test simulates 182KJ of energy (a Civic impacting another at 40 mph). In other words, the Civic driver faced 325% 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, sadly, quite small.

The Dodge’s frontal test simulated 313KJ of energy (a Dodge impacting another at 40 mph), indicating that its occupants would have faced 110% of the forces the vehicle was rated to safely withstand, given that the Civic imparted 344KJ of energy into the Dodge. This was clearly a survivable collision for the Nitro’s occupants, which was reflected in their survival.

That said, it is surprising that Kayla, the 14 year old front-seated passenger, survived the impact, as she was unbelted, which severely increased her odds of suffering a fatal injury. She cheated death in this collision, while the survival of Mylinda and Luke in particular were to be expected. It is unclear why Mylinda suffered incapacitating injuries, although the “acceptable” subscore for the left leg in the Nitro’s front crash profile suggests leg injuries would have been possible in a typical collision.

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