Who:

Reagan Lee Hartley, 22, from Willow Spring, was killed around 10:30 PM on 4/23/14 between Patterson St. and Wendover Avenue on I-40 in Greensboro, NC. Hartley drove a 1997-era silver Volvo C70 and was hit by Ronnie Fichera, 46, from South Boston, VA, who drove a 1997-era green Ford Expedition. Hartley was a senior at Western Carolina University, where she was studying early elementary education, and was due to graduate in May after completing her student teaching.

How:

Hartley was eastbound on I-40 heading to her parents.’ She was impacted by Fichera, who was headed westbound in the eastbound lanes at an estimated 80-90 mph in an effort to evade police. He was reportedly impaired and carrying an open container of alcohol in his vehicle. Hartley died en route to the hospital, while Fichera was listed in critical condition.

Why:

This is another tragic case involving drunk driving, which is implicated in 1 of every 3 fatal traffic incidents in the US. Fichera, per reports, first began acting strangely around 10:05 at a Subway, where he displayed aggressive and erratic behavior. He left, was approached by officers, and drove off when asked to leave his vehicle. A pursuit occurred but was called off when Fichera entered I-40 in the wrong lane of traffic. Shortly after, the collision occurred.

Investigating the physics of the crash, it is not surprising that Hartley died while Fichera lived, as her vehicle was massively outweighed by his. The 1997-era C70 weighs ~3200 lbs and we’ll assume it came with a “good” frontal score, being a Volvo. It was impacted by a 1997-era Expedition that weighs ~4826 lbs, or 51% of the C70’s weight.  As a result, the C70 driver automatically faced 151% more force in the collision than she would have if she’d collided with another C70, placing her at a severe disadvantage in the collision. Fichera, meanwhile, experienced 33% lower forces due to his weight advantage.

Given the likely speeds of the collision (~85 mph), the collision likely imparted at least 1.58MJ of energy into the C70. The C70 frontal impact test, had one existed, would have simulated 232KJ of energy (a C70 impacting another at 40 mph). In other words, the C70 driver faced 681% of the force she’d have experienced in the type of crash her car would have been rated for. Given the speed of the collision, her odds of survival were, sadly, virtually non-existent.

The Expedition’s frontal test, had one existed, would simulate 350KJ of energy (an Expedition impacting another at 40 mph), indicating that its driver would have faced 300% of the forces his SUV was rated to safely withstand, given that the C70 imparted 1.05MJ of energy into the Expedition. While these were still tremendous forces, his odds of survival were still much better than those of the C70’s driver, and this was reflected in his survival in critical condition.

This was ultimately a wholly preventable tragedy, as are so many of these stories.

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