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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