2018 update:

Jason Kamp, Sarah’s husband, won a $3 million settlement for wrongful death against Stephenson County due to the failure of the county to replace the sign or provide an adequate warning the morning of the crash. It doesn’t bring back his wife or unborn child, but it does hopefully make life easier for him and his son.

Who:

Sarah Kamp, 32, of Byron, an English teacher at Polo High School, was killed 5/20/13 at at 7:07 AM at the intersection of Rock City Rd and Montague Rd 6 miles to the SE of Freeport, IL. She drove a 2002 Toyota Rav4 and was impacted by a 2006 Saturn Vue driven by Barbara Faulkner, 56. Faulkner and a 19-year old passenger received non-life-threatening injuries. Per Kamp’s husband, Jason, she was pregnant and on the way to a medical checkup that morning. She leaves behind her husband and 21-month old son, Nathan.

How:

Per police reports, Kamp was westbound on Montague and entered the intersection with Rock City Rd without stopping at the stop sign that would typically have been located there. In the process, she was impacted by a northbound Vue on the driver’s side. She died at OSF in Rockford, where she was airlifted. All occupants were belted. Per police reports, the stop sign had been reported missing 16 minutes prior to the crash. The sign was located nearby in a field and had apparently been damaged by weather, suggesting it had been blown away the previous night due to weather conditions. Later reports revealed that the sign had been reported missing at the intersection up to an hour before the crash, but that the information had not been relayed to road crews until a few minutes before the crash.

Why:

This is a sad, sad case. From reading additional reports, it seems that weather conditions led to the sign’s displacement, the sign was reported missing at 6:51 AM, and that a dispatcher forgot to relay the information regarding the downed sign to the appropriate resources as s/he took another call. There was a 7 AM shift change, and no one was notified, and the crash then occurred at 7:07. It is unclear whether the highway department would have been able to reach the scene in time had the call been relayed, but it would certainly have helped Kamp’s odds of survival.

Given these dynamics, the 2002 RAV4 weighs ~3113 lbs and is classified as a small SUV. It has a “poor” side score, since it did not come with side airbags standard. The 2006 Vue weighs ~3534 lbs as a small SUV. It had a “good” frontal crash score.

Given the likely speeds of the collision (~55 mph), the collision likely imparted at least 485KJ of energy into the Rav4 / Vue. The standard side impact test simulates 143KJ of energy (a 3300-lb sled impacting a vehicle at 31 mph). In other words, the Rav4 occupant faced 339% of the force she’d have experienced in the types of crashes cars are side rated for. On top of this, her car already failed the side test due to high risks of pelvic fractures, serious neck injuries, rib fractures, and internal organ injuries.

Meanwhile, the Vue was designed to perform well in a frontal impact test simulating 256KJ of energy (i.e., a Vue impacting its twin at 40 mph). The Vue’s occupants faced 189% of these forces. Their survival was expected, despite the significantly higher forces, and is a testament to the “good” frontal score, the presence of front airbags, and the occupants’ use of seat belts. It is essential to note, however, given the split second dynamics of the crash, that had the Rav4 entered the intersection a moment later, it might have impacted the Vue in the passenger side, resulting in almost certain death to the 19-year old passenger and potentially to the vehicle’s driver, as the Vue also had a “poor” side impact score. The Rav4 driver, in turn, would almost certainly have survived such a crash.

I cannot recommend the 2002-era Rav4, 2006-era Vue, or any other vehicle that does not come standard with head/torso side airbags. The stakes are just too high.

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