Tag Archives: headon

Elena T. Burr, 49, in Summit Township, MI, Killed in Car Crash

April 17, 2015 Mike

Who:

Elena T. Burr, 49, from Adrian, MI, was killed on 3/12/14 at around 4 PM close to McDevitt Ave. on US 27 in Summit Township, MI. She drove a 2013 Chevrolet Impala and was impacted by a 2005 Ford F-150 driven by Gary Lentz, 66, with his wife Shelly Olivia, 58, in the passenger seat. Burr managed several Long John Silver’s restaurants and was married with three children and a stepdaughter.

How:

Lentz was northbound and lost control on ice while driving on the highway, per police reports. He crossed the median and collided with a southbound Impala. Burr died at the scene while Lentz and Olivia were mildly injured.

Why:

Per the police reports, this was simply an unfortunate turn of events. The Chief Assistant Prosecutor stated Lenz likely hit an ice patch and lost control. Weather reports indicated there had been a snow storm that morning, and while the highway was mostly cleared by afternoon, there was some dampness left. At any rate, he lost control, crossed into oncoming traffic, and caused the collision. It is possible that, had the F-150 come with ESC, he would have been able to maintain control.

Investigating the physics of the crash, it is sadly not surprising that Burr died while the F-150 occupants lived, as her vehicle was massively outweighed by the Ford. The 2012 Impala weighs 3585 lbs and comes with a “good” IIHS frontal score. It was impacted by a 2005 F-150, that weighs roughly 5185 lbs, or 145% of the Impala’s weight. As a result, the Impala’s driver automatically faced 45% more force in the collision than she would have if she’d collided with another Imapala, placing her at a severe disadvantage in the collision. The Ford occupants, meanwhile, experienced 31% lower forces due to weighing much more and putting many innocent people throughout the country needlessly at risk.

Given the likely speeds of the collision (~55 mph), the collision likely imparted at least 711KJ of energy into the Impala. The Impala frontal impact test simulates 260KJ of energy (an Impala impacting another at 40 mph). In other words, the Impala driver faced 273% 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 F-150’s frontal test simulates 376KJ of energy (a Ford impacting another at 40 mph), indicating that its occupants would have faced 131% of the forces the vehicle was rated to safely withstand, given that the Impala imparted 492KJ of energy into the F-150. This was clearly a survivable collision for the Ford’s occupants, which was reflected in their survival and lack of severe injuries.

This was an unfortunate tragedy that could have been prevented if there had not been such a great discrepancy in the weights of the vehicles involved in the collision, as well as if the offending vehicle had been equipped with appropriate tires for the weather conditions. As long as we are allowed to freely purchase giant vehicles and drive them without closer regulations (e.g., requiring purchasers of vehicles weighing more than 5000 lbs to obtain CDL licenses or requiring winter tires on all vehicles in states north of Kentucky during the winter), such tragedies will unfortunately continue to take our loved ones.

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Joyce Loomis, 63, in Coleman, TX, Killed in SUV / Pickup Crash

April 11, 2015 Mike

Who:

Joyce Loomis, 63, from Aztec, NM, was killed at the scene on Sunday, 4/27/14, at around 11:20, in Coleman, TX, on the US 84 Bypass. She was a front passenger in a blue 2013 Honda Pilot driven by Tara Ritter, and was killed by a 2007 maroon Chevrolet Silverado driven by Ryan Schuessler, who was carrying Rebecca Schuesser as a front passenger. The Schuessers and Ritter were injured.

How:

Per police reports, it was a clear day with a dry road, and all passengers were belted, with all frontal bags deploying. The Pilot was southbound. The Silverado was northbound and crossed into the southbound lane. The Pilot driver tried to cross to the northbound lane to avoid colliding, but the Silverado driver corrected back into his lane, leading to the collision.

Why:

This is another sad case of driver error leading to a preventable collision.

The 2013 Pilot weighs ~4610 lbs and had a “good” frontal score. It was impacted by a 2007 Silverado, a large pickup with a “good” frontal score that weighs ~5179 lbs, or 112% of the weight of the Avalon. As a result, the Pilot automatically faced 12% more force in the collision than it would have colliding with another Pilot, placing it at a slight disadvantage in the collision. Meanwhile, the Silverado experienced 11% less force.

Given the likely speeds of the collision (~75 mph), the collision likely imparted at least 1.32MJ of energy into the Pilot. The Pilot’s frontal impact test simulates 334KJ of energy (a Pilot impacting another at 40 mph). In other words, the Pilot faced 395% of the force it would have experienced in the type of crash the vehicle was rated for. Given the speed of the collision, it is sadly unsurprising that the passenger died, although the survival of the driver does suggest the collision was survivable.

The Silverado’s frontal test simulated 376KJ of energy (a Silverado impacting another at 40 mph), indicating that its occupants would have faced 314% of the forces the vehicle was rated to safely withstand, given that the Pilot imparted 1.18MJ of energy into the Silverado. While these were still tremendous forces, occupants odds of survival were still slightly better than those of the Pilot occupants, which was reflected in the survival of the Silverado’s occupants.

We may never know why Ryan crossed the center line. We do know that his momentary instance of distracted driving took the life of another individual.

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Debra Sue Oehmke, 56, in Charlotte, NC, Killed in Car Crash

March 19, 2015 Mike

Who:

Debra Sue Oehmke, 56, died in Charlotte, NC, on 5/7/14 close to Collingham Drive by the 10500 block of Steele Creek Rd. She drove a 2013 Volkswagen Passat and was hit by Trungquan Le Tran, 23, at around 9:03 AM. Tran drove a 2009 Honda Accord into her car. Oehmke was believed to have been heading to work, where she worked as an accountant. Tran was uninjured.

How:

Tran was southbound on Steel Creek Rd when he fell asleep. He crossed the double yellow, encountered oncoming traffic, and hit the northbound Passat head-on. Oehmke required extrication, was airlifted, and died that day at the hospital. Tran was arrested and faces a misdemeanor death by vehicle charge. Police stated neither speed nor alcohol factored in the crash. Both individuals wore seat belts.

Why:

Sadly, this collision was completely preventable. Tran fell asleep on the road. He almost certainly felt sleepy ahead of time, but judged himself capable of driving safely. An innocent victim is dead as a result of this error.

The 2013 Passat weighs 3212 lbs and comes with a “good” IIHS frontal score. It was impacted by a 2009 Accord, that weighs roughly 3386 lbs, or 105% of the Passat’s weight. As a result, the vehicles essentially crashed into their twins, and the weight differences were insignificant.

Given the likely speeds of the collision (~55 mph), the collision likely imparted at least 464KJ of energy into the Passat. The Passat frontal impact test simulates 232KJ of energy (a Passat impacting another at 40 mph). In other words, the Passat driver faced 200% 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 still significant, as most of the frontal crashes I research at this percentage of forces appear to be survivable. I don’t know why she was as severely injured as she was. The survival of Tran without any injuries further underscores my venture that both individuals should easily have survived the collision. The advanced age of Oehmke would have placed her at a greater risk of injury, and this likely played a role in the severity of her injuries.

This was an unfortunate tragedy that could have been prevented if Tran had simply pulled over when he felt sleepy.

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Ashley Chieco, 26, in Old Bridge, NJ, Killed in SUV vs. Car Crash

November 9, 2014 Mike

Who:

Ashley Chieco, 26, was killed at around 6 PM of 8/16/13 in Old Bridge, New Jersey, when she drunkenly drove a stolen 2011 Hyundai Tucson and crashed into Dana S. Corrar, 55, from Old Bridge. The collision occurred in the southbound lanes of Route 18. Corrar drove a 2000 BMW 323.

Chieco died at the scene while Corrar was severely injured with fractures to both legs and ankles, rib injuries, a punctured lung, and cervical and spine damage. It is estimated that she will not walk for another year. Her daughter dropped out of college to care for her. She was a nurse, mother, and grandmother who had been homebound on a 35 mile drive when struck by Chieco, and it is thought that she might never return to work again.

Chieco, meanwhile, was a crisis counselor, psychology professor, and a recent graduate with a master’s degree in psychology. At the time of the collision, Chieco had traveling home to assist her father in celebrating his 58th birthday. She had recently left Martell’s Tiki Bar in Point Pleasant Beach, NJ, and was trying to drive 70 miles to reach her home in Wood-Ridge.

How:

Per various reports, Chieco entered Martell’s Tiki Bar at around 11 AM and had consumed numerous 20-ounce vodka-related drinks as well as shots at the bar before she mistook another vehicle for hers in the bar’s parking lot at 5:30 PM when she left. The bar had an established policy of requesting patrons leave their keys in their vehicles to make them easier to move. Chieco then drove north for 30 miles, swerving to avoid vehicles along the way, before she collided with Corrar. She drove the wrong way, northbound in the southbound lane, and caused the head-on collision. Her autopsied BAC was .189, and her stomach was empty.

Corrar’s attorney, Paul Edelstein, is suing Martells and states he believes the bartenders at Martell’s continued to serve Chieco despite her visible intoxication, and that there were no means to keep her from taking someone else’s vehicle and driving away while drunk. Chieco’s parents are also part of the suit against Martell’s, and state their daughter was over-served. The mayor of the borough, Vincent Barrella, argued that the license of the bar shouldn’t have been renewed until the case was completely resolved, but the Point Pleasant Beach council decided 4-0 to renew the license anyway.

Why:

This is another sad case of alcohol use leading to a fatality, as are 1 of every 3 traffic deaths in this country, year after year.

So many things went wrong that night, but I find myself siding with the suit against the bar. It is incredibly irresponsible to serve alcohol in a location where patrons are asked to leave their keys in their vehicles, and it would have been impossible not to notice a person as inebriated as Chieco was not capable of driving a vehicle. She should not have been allowed to enter any vehicles that night, and while she was ultimately responsible for her tragic death and the injuries imparted to Corrar, she would not have been in a position to drive away had the bar spent less time serving her alcohol and more time ensuring individuals were not allowed to drive away under the influence. A bar capable of tracking individuals’ tabs in order to obtain payment before patrons left is certainly a bar capable of calculating when individuals would not legally be capable of driving. Additionally, it is against the law to serve alcohol to patrons who are already drunk, and has been for decades.

Furthermore, the decision of the counsel to renew the license of the bar is as clear evidence as one needs of the corruption that becomes inevitable when morals and money collide. The bar was extremely irresponsible in its practices toward patrons and the counsel rewarded that irresponsibility in order to keep its funds flowing.

More broadly, this is also the result of a society with one of the highest legal drinking limits in the rich world, at .08, instead of at .02 – .05, the way it is in so many other countries.

The 2010 Tucson weighs 3357 lbs and comes with a “good” IIHS frontal score. It collided with a 2000 323 that weighs 3347 lbs, or almost exactly the Tucson’s weight, and also comes with a “good” frontal score. As a result, each vehicle essentially ran into its twin, weight-wise, meaning neither vehicle had a significant advantage from a weight perspective.

Given the likely speeds of the collision (~65 mph), the collision likely imparted at least 643KJ of energy into each vehicle. Each vehicle’s frontal impact test simulates 243KJ of energy (a Tucson/323 impacting another at 40 mph). In other words, each driver faced 264% of the force she’d have experienced in the type of crash her car was rated for. Given the forces of the collision, I would have expected both drivers to have a fair, though low, chance of survival. However, the description of Corrar’s injuries shows the extent to which your life can be altered irrevocably, even as a survivor, from an auto collision. She has injuries she will never fully recover from, and her life trajectory has been permanently altered through no fault of her own, due to a set of circumstances wholly preventable and completely unrelated to her life.

This was ultimately a wholly preventable tragedy. There is *no* safe amount of alcohol you can consume when you plan to drive.

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Todd Spencer Ringheim, 50, near Sherwood, OR, Killed in SUV vs. Dump Truck Crash

October 31, 2014 Mike

Who:

Todd Spencer Ringheim, 50, was killed Wednesday morning 3/26/14 near Sherwood, OR. He drove a 2009 Cadillac Escalade SXT and collided with a dump truck by Southwest Scholls-Sherwood Road. He was on Southwest Roy Rogers. The dump truck driver had minor injuries.

How:

Ringheim headed south on SW Roy Rogers Rd at approximately 55 mph and approached a road curve that he was unable to negotiate. He crossed the center line and crashed into a northbound dump truck. He died at the scene while the dump truck driver sustained minor injuries.

Why:

This appears to be a textbook case of a small frontal overlap crash; the kind where the vehicles almost missed each other, but didn’t. These kinds of collisions tend to be even more severe than moderate (e.g., 50%) overlap crashes, which in turn, are more severe than full head-on crashes, since each crash offers progressively less of the vehicle to absorb the tremendous energies involved.

It is likely that Ringheim was traveling too fast for road conditions and lost control in the turn; it is essential to remember that the speed limit describes the speed limit in idealized conditions, and that it is often necessary to travel slower than the posted limit. The pictures indicate it was or had recently been raining that day, indicating 55 mph would have been too fast to safely negotiate that turn, due to the reduced traction available in rainy weather.

Despite the presence of ESC in the 2009 Escalade SXT, he was unable to negotiate the turn. The Escalade, a modified Silverado, weighed ~5990 lbs and was not tested for frontal impact scores by the IIHS. It was impacted by what appears to be a standard 10-wheel dump truck, which can weigh at least 24,000 lbs. That’s at least 401% of the simulated weight the Escalade would have experienced in an IIHS front impact test.

Given the likely speeds of the collision (~55 mph), the collision likely imparted at least 3.29MJ of energy into the Escalade. The standard front impact test for the Escalade would simulate 434KJ of energy (an Escalade impacting its twin at 40 mph). In other words, Ringheim faced 758% of the force he’d have experienced in the types of crashes Escalades would be front rated for. Given these forces, his odds of survival were, sadly, virtually non-existent.

It is noteworthy, though not unexpected, that there is negligible damage to the front of the dump truck, while the same cannot be said for the Escalade, where the front and side deployed airbags are visible, as is a significant amount of intrusion. The A pillar appears to have completely disintegrated, as does most of the driver’s side of the front of the vehicle, consistent with a severe frontal overlap crash.

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