Head-On Collision in Montgomery County Injures Three
MONTGOMERY COUNTY, MD- Wtop.com writes that three people suffered injuries in a head-on collision that resulted in a fire over the weekend in Montgomery County. The wreck occurred in the early morning when a driver entered the Outer Loop heading in the wrong direction.*
The vehicles collided close to the Holy Cross Hospital, and then both of the cars ignited. Reports indicate that one of the victims was stuck and required extraction. The three injured individuals were transported to the hospital with severe injuries.
Traffic was diverted away from the Outer Loop while first responders investigated the site. The incident led to lengthy delays as traffic was diverted through Silver Spring.
Wrong-way collisions occur when a driver is traveling in the opposite direction of traffic on a roadway that is divided. These collisions are often extremely severe as they involve a head-on impact while the vehicles are traveling at high rates of speed.
Divided highways are typically marked well with multiple signs informing a drive that they are traveling the wrong direction when they enter the highway on an exit ramp. The redundant signage is used to ensure that a driver will see that they have made a serious error and turn back before causing a devastating wreck. Despite the efforts to prevent people from making such mistakes, hundreds of people are killed in wrong-way collisions every year. When it comes to head-on collisions, 43 miles per hour is fast enough to cause fatalities.
Accident News is a safety and education initiative from Montlick & Associates, designed to help people better understand and thereby avoid common accident causes. To learn more about our injury prevention programs, including iridesafe.com - click here. We hope you are never in an accident, but if you or family member are injured, call Montlick & Associates 24/7 for your free consultation at 1-800-LAW-NEED (1-800-529-6333) or use our live chat at Montlick.com.
Sources:https://wtop.com/montgomery-county/2020/02/3-injured-in-fiery-head-on-collision-along-outer-loop/ and https://safety.fhwa.dot.gov/intersection/other_topics/wwd/ and https://www.thecarcrashdetective.com/how-to-survive-a-head-on-collision-slow-down-to-below-43mph/