Who:
Laura Anne LaPlante, 26, from New Hampshire, was killed in Chicago, IL on Friday, 5/1/14, at around 1:50 AM on Lake Shore Drive by Randolph St. She was in a 2013 Toyota Prius taxi and was hit by a wrong way drunk driver, Erik Johnson, 23, in a 2014 Subaru Crosstrek. She died at the hospital at 6:30 PM while a 24-year-old passenger, a fellow law student, was transported to the hospital in critical condition. The driver of the Subaru and of the taxi, a 38-year-old man, were also hospitalized. LaPlante was a 3rd year law student at the University of Chicago Law School and would have graduated this June 14th. She planned to work at a Boston law firm in the fall upon graduation.

How:
Per reports, the taxi was in the northbound lane and collided with a Crosstrek that was southbound in the northbound lanes. Police have stated alcohol factored in the crash and charges are pending. Witnesses reported that one of the passengers in the taxi went through the front windshield of the vehicle and needed to be extricated, and the other passenger was partially ejected. Neither wore seat belts. Johnson confessed to having had several beers and hard liquor when questioned at the scene, and presented a BAC of .195 when tested at the hospital. The 24-year old suffered broken ribs and a broken sternum, head trauma, and a collapsed lung. The taxi driver fractured his elbow.

Why:
This is another tragic case of alcohol-induced wrong way driving that resulted in a fatal head on collision. LaPlante had her life ahead of her, as have so many victims of drunk drivers, and died because an individual chose to drive while inebriated.

The 2013-era Prius weighs around 3064 pounds and has a “good” frontal score. It was impacted in what looks like a moderate overlap collision by a 2014 Crosstrek, which is a twin of the Impreza that weighs ~3142 lbs, or 106% of the weight of the Prius, and has a “good” frontal score. The weights were close enough that the advantage of the Crosstrek was not significant in this collision.

The speed limit on LSD is typically 40 mph, but drivers routinely travel at 50 mph or more on the roadway. Assuming a 55 mph speed in each vehicle, the collision likely imparted at least 431KJ of energy into the Prius. The Prius’ frontal impact test simulates 222KJ of energy (a Prius impacting another at 40 mph). In other words, the Prius occupants faced 194% of the force they’d have experienced in the type of crash the car was rated for.

Given the speed of the collision, the risk of injury was high, but the collision should have been survivable, which was evidenced by the survival of not only the driver but one of the two passengers. However, I would wager that LaPlante was the passenger who was ejected through the windshield, which would have significantly increased her risk of severe injury. She was not wearing her seat belt, and the risk of ejection is several times higher in unbelted occupants than in belted ones. I suspect she sat in the front and received severe head and chest trauma due to her being unrestrained and in close proximity to the crash. I believe she would likely have survived this collision had she been wearing her seat belt.

The survival of the Crosstrek driver was to be expected based on the forces referenced above, as well as from an analysis of the far greater degree of structural integrity visible in the image of the Crosstrek post-collision compared to the Prius. In other words, the Crosstrek performed significantly better in the collision, which may also have been due to the “good” score the Crosstrek received in the small overlap test. The Prius at this time did not have a small overlap score, but would likely have received a poor one, as the current generation Prius, which was strengthened for the small overlap test, has an “acceptable” score.

This was ultimately a wholly preventable tragedy, and again points to the need to reform our laws and cultural attitudes toward the consumption of alcohol in relation to driving. At the same time, greater attention needs to be paid by all individuals to the need to be properly restrained, every time, on every ride, in every vehicle.

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