Just yesterday, we were writing about the severity of rollover crashes compared to other types of vehicle wrecks. Our Houston rollover injury attorneys were focused on side impact crashes in that post; but as this terrible, speed related collision on Highway 290 demonstrates, rollovers can also result from rear-end wrecks as well as from single-vehicle accidents.
Just before midnight on Sunday, a speed related collision on Highway 290 sent an SUV into a rollover. Two people from the SUV were hospitalized after the crash. And a passenger in the Chevy Camaro that hit the SUV was rushed to the hospital in critical condition. But the Camaro’s driver had only minor injuries and was able to talk to police after the accident.
Witnesses indicated to Houston police that the Camaro had been speeding in the outbound lanes of Highway 290 when it crashed into the back of the SUV near Pinemont and sent it into a rollover. The severe rollover crash closed Highway 290 for several hours while police investigated.
A sergeant with the Houston police investigation of the accident said that the driver of the Chevy Camaro faced the possibility of intoxication assault charges, or intoxication manslaughter if her critically injured passenger did not survive the wreck. (Andrew Horansky, khou.com, 2/17/14) The Houston rollover injury attorneys at Denena Points, PC wish the injured victims of the Highway 290 crash safe and rapid recoveries from the accident.
Potential Injury Dangers in Rollover Crashes
Rollover wrecks are particularly dangerous due to the potentials for passengers to be ejected from the vehicle and for “roof crush” effects to cause severe head and spinal injuries. The government is phasing in stronger requirements regarding roof crush resistance.
But our Houston rollover injury attorneys note that the new rules will only require a roof to withstand three times the vehicle’s weight against a carefully controlled application of force as prescribed by the government safety test guidelines. Safety advocates maintain that a roof would need to withstand a much more sharply applied angle of force and also four times the vehicle’s weight to adequately protect you from a rollover.
In addition, your airbag protection is limited in a rollover. Click the link to learn about how some side curtain airbags are designed to help protect you from being injured in a rollover wreck. Note that not all side airbags are “curtain” airbags designed for rollover protection however. When you buy a vehicle, you should ask about the types of airbags installed and what types of protection they provide.