Tag Archives: crash

Ashley Browder, 21, in Albuquerque, NM, Killed in SUV vs. SUV Crash

April 19, 2014 Mike

Who:

Ashley Browder, 21, killed on 2/10/13 around 2:30 AM as a passenger, while Lindsay Browder, 19, her younger sister and the driver of the 2001-era white Honda CR-V, broke her hip and fractured her spine. Browder was an Air National Guard member. The crash occurred at Eagle Ranch NW and Paseo del Norte intersection in Albuquerque. They were impacted by a 2008-era Chevrolet Tahoe (police edition) driven by off-duty APD Sargeant Adam Casaus, 21.

How:

According to Casaus, he was westbound on Paseo del Norte and was using lights and sirens while driving to find a suspected drunk driver. He went through a red light at approximately 65 mph. He then impacted the CR-V, which was northbound on Eagle Ranch in the intersection, in the passenger side. Ashley died at the scene, while Lindsay was seriously injured. Casaus called in the crash, noting that he had a laceration to his head and some chest pain.

It was soon revealed by APD dispatch records that Casaus had never reported the alleged chase, while witnesses indicated they had never seen a driver. Investigators also determined that the CR-V had not been speeding, and that Casaus had not had his siren or lights activated. In other words, he was completely lying. He was fired on May 24th and charged with reckless vehicular homicide.

When:

This is an unfortunate case of a public safety officer who violated a number of legal and ethical principles (abusing his department-issued vehicle, speeding, running a red light, providing several false statements…) in effort to get away with vehicular homicide. In terms of the vehicle analysis, the fatality occurred because he ran the red light, was speeding, and collided with a vehicle that had the right of way.

The 2001-era CR-V weighed ~3214 lbs and did not come with a side impact score or side airbags. It would have received a “poor” or “marginal” side rating due to the lack of airbags and high degree of cabin intrusion (as was visible in the 2002-era CR-V). It was impacted by a police-modified 2008-era Tahoe, which weighed at least 5524 lbs. That’s 167% of the weight of the simulated vehicle in the IIHS side impact test.

Given the likely speeds of the collision (~65 mph), the collision likely imparted at least 1.06MJ of energy into the CR-V. The standard side impact test simulates 143KJ of energy (a 3300-lb sled impacting a vehicle at 31 mph). In other words, Ashley faced 741% of the force she’d have experienced in the types of crashes cars are side rated for. Given the speed of the collision and the lack of airbags and structural integrity of the CR-V, her odds of survival were, sadly, virtually non-existent.

It is noteworthy, though not unexpected, that there is significant damage to the front of the Tahoe but there appears to be a minimal amount of cabin intrusion. The same cannot be said the side of the CR-V, where there is a significant amount of intrusion, the A frame is severely compromised, and the roof is buckled.

This collision was completely preventable, and it is a tragedy that a young life was cut short by reckless driving. Casaus is scheduled to go on trial this September (2014).

2016 Prologue: Casaus was charged with vehicular homicide, but the jury decided to only convict him of reckless driving, which carried a maximum 90 day jail term. He completed his sentence in March 2015 and sought rehire from the APD. Broder’s family filed a civil suit against him and the city, which has also been chastized for destroying evidence related to the original case.

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Three Teens from Springfield Township, OH, Killed in Car vs. Tree Crash

April 17, 2014 Mike

Who:
Wesley Culpepper, 15; Daniel Tittle, 17; Charles Luthe, 16, were killed on 3/26/14 at around 6 AM in Springfield Township around the 2100 block of Ridge Road. All three were Tecumseh High School students. The vehicle was a 2006-era Hyundai Sonata.

How:
Per the Ohio Highway Patrol, the vehicle was speeding, departed the roadway, struck a tree, and was cut in half. Per the Highway Patrol officers, for the vehicle to have split the way it did, it must have involved high speed and reckless driving. Two victims were located in the vehicle, while a third was ejected.

Why:
This seems like, sadly, another clear cut case of speeding, which is implicated in 1 out of every 3 fatalities on the road, or more than 10,000 each year in the US. The sheer amount of destruction imparted on the vehicle, as visible in the pictures, suggests the vehicle may have impacted the tree from the passenger’s side at a speed of at least 70 mph, split in two, and rolled in multiple pieces several times before coming to a rest.

The 2006-era Sonata weighs around ~3541 lbs, is equipped with side head/torso airbags, has an “acceptable” side score, a “marginal” roof score, and a “good” front score. It also came standard with ESC and anti-lock brakes. All of these features were rendered useless by the high rate of speed at which the Sonata’s passengers were traveling. Furthermore, none of the occupants wore seat belts, although again, the collision speed would have nullified their effectiveness.

Given the likely speeds of the collision (~70 mph), the collision likely imparted at least 787J of energy into the Sonata. The standard side impact test simulates 143KJ of energy (a 3300-lb sled impacting a vehicle at 31 mph). In other words, the Sonata’s passengers faced 550% of the force they’d have experienced in the types of crashes cars are side rated for. Even though they were traveling in a vehicle equipped with head and torso side air bags, their odds of survival were, sadly, virtually non-existent.

This is another preventable set of fatalities that occurred due to the decision to speed. I have to wonder if it might not have been preventable had the parents of the teenagers had some means of awareness of where and how quickly their teens were driving, such as through GPS technology.

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Patricia Rosoff, 64, in West Hartford, CT, Killed in Car vs. Bus Crash

April 13, 2014 Mike

Who:

Patricia Rosoff, 64 (killed) on 3/25/14 at around 7:10 AM in West Hartford, CT. She was involved a collision in her 2000 Saab 9-3 with a full-size school bus at the Boulevard and Mountain Road intersections. No injuries were reported to the driver or 18 students aboard the bus. She was the dean of humanities and an art / English teacher at Kingsword Oxford School, where she had worked for 39 years and where she was headed to work that morning.

How:

Rosoff was eastbound while the bus was southbound. At the intersection, she was hit on the driver’s side by the bus. She was wearing her seat belt and was cut out of the car by firefighters. She was taken to the local hospital and pronounced dead.

Why:

It’s unclear at this time whether the bus driver ran the light or whether Rosoff did, although one of the drivers almost certainly did. However, what is clear is that she was driving a 2000 Saab 9-3, a midsized vehicle weighing ~3137 lbs and equipped with front seat combination head and torso side airbags. The vehicle was never side impact tested, but would likely have received a marginal or acceptable score. It was impacted, however, by a full-size school bus, which weighs between 22,000 and 28,000 lbs empty. Adding 19 occupants at an estimated weight of 120 lbs, we can estimate its weight at 28,000 lbs. That’s 848% of the weight of the simulated vehicle in the IIHS side impact test.

Given the likely speeds of the collision (~31 mph), the collision likely imparted at least 1.22MJ of energy into the Saab. The standard side impact test simulates 143KJ of energy (a 3300-lb sled impacting a vehicle at 31 mph). In other words, Rosoff faced 853% of the force she’d have experienced in the types of crashes cars are side rated for. Even though she was wearing her seat belt and traveling in a vehicle equipped with head and torso side air bags, her odds of survival were, sadly, virtually non-existent.

It is noteworthy, though not unexpected, that there is negligible damage to the front of the school bus, while the same cannot be said for the side of the Saab, where the front and side deployed airbags are visible, as is a significant amount of intrusion.

In most side impact crashes I’ve looked at, the predetermining factor in the KE = .5 * M * V^2 equation that leads to death from the kinetic energy is the speed (V) of the T-boning vehicle. However, in cases such as these, even though the speed was likely no higher than that in side impact tests, the overwhelming M of the school bus proved just as severe in provoking a fatal amount of KE transfer.

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Wanda Fetters, 79, Killed near Bellafontaine, OH, in Car vs. Pickup Crash

April 10, 2014 Mike

Who:
Wanda B. Fetters, 79, was killed on 3/25/14 around 4 PM at the intersections of Township Road 179 and County Road 10 close to Bellefontaine, OH. She drove a 1999 Toyota Camry and to have collided with a 2010 Ford F-150 pickup truck driven by Marvin C. Tuente.

How:

Fetters was heading south on Township Rd 179 in her Camry and did not yield at a stop sign and was hit by a westbound F-150 on County Rd 10 in the driver’s side. After the impact, the Camry traveled down a hill and impacted a tree. Fetters died at the scene. Tuente was injured and transported to the hospital. His injuries were not life-threatening.

Why:
Unfortunately, this looks like a textbook case of a failure to yield at a stop leading to a high speed side impact. The 1997-era Camry weighs ~3128 lbs and did not come with any form of side airbags as standard features, which indicates it would have received a “poor” side score, had it been tested. It was hit by a 2009-era F-150, which weighs ~5199 lbs, or 57% more than the simulated vehicle in the IIHS side impact test.

Given the likely speeds of the collision (~55 mph), the collision likely imparted at least 713KJ of energy into the Camry. The standard side impact test simulates 143KJ of energy (a 3300-lb sled impacting a vehicle at 31 mph). In other words, the Camry occupant faced 499% of the force she’d have experienced in the types of crashes cars are side rated for. Without side airbags, her odds of survival were, sadly, virtually non-existent. It is likely that she would still have been severely injured in a newer Camry with greater structural integrity and airbags, but her odds of survival would have been significantly (37%) greater.

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Olivia Lopez, 86, of North Bergen, NJ, Killed in SUV-Semi Crash

April 7, 2014 Mike

The Who:

Olivia Lopez, 86 (killed) on 3/19/14. She was the front passenger in a 2007-era Honda CR-V driven by her husband, Hugo Lopez, 83, while their daughter, Juana Lopez, was in the back seat behind the driver. The collision occurred at 4:50 PM on a ramp in North Bergen that led to Route 495 West.

The How:

According to Lopez, the CR-V suddenly accelerated. The vehicle hit 4 or more other vehicles before crashing into the back left corner of a tractor trailer. Hugo told police he could not stop the vehicle before it crashed. Olivia died at the scene, while her family members had minor injuries.

The Why:

It is impossible to tell what went wrong in this case, butt is possible that this may have been an unfortunate case of driver error. The 2007-era CR-V is one of the safest cars on the road, as the AWD version had a driver death rate of 7 while the FWD version had a driver death rate of ~20, per the most recent IIHS status report on driver death rates. Unintended accelerations do not appear to be a common complaint in safety reports on the NHTSA website. However, it is important to remember that individual vehicles can and do have malfunctions, and without a detailed analysis of the throttle mechanism of the vehicle, it is impossible to say whether the error rested with the vehicle or the driver. Unfortunately, regardless of what led to the collision, the life of a dear family member was lost.

Structurally, what occurred was a small frontal overlap crash involving rear underride into a semi-trailer. Rear underride small overlap crashes with semis are particularly deadly, as this IIHS report indicates, where a 35 mph 30% overlap crash was almost invariably fatal to the simulated driver. Severe cabin intrusion occurred into the passenger side as the CR-V broke past the underride guard, and sadly, the passenger was almost certainly killed instantly. Please drive safely and watch out for semi trailers; they are by far the most dangerous vehicles on our roads in terms of likelihoods of causing fatalities in multi-vehicle collisions.

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35,000 Americans will die this year on the road. You don't have to be one of them. A car seat and car safety blog to promote best practices for families.