Teenage Driver Involved in Fatal Hydroplaning Accident in Forsyth County

A fatal speed-related car accident that claimed the life of a popular North Forsyth High School student serves as a tragic reminder of the danger of speeding, particularly as roads become wet from winter weather.

Forsyth County investigators have indicated that the collision may have been caused by excessive speed and a slick roadway when the teen driver negotiated a curve. Kyle Alan Robins, who lived in Gainesville, died in the collision in Cumming while four others were injured.

According to a spokesman from the Forsyth County Sheriff's office, the 17-year-old high school student was allegedly speeding when the vehicle hydroplaned on the wet road as the driver attempted to negotiate a curve on the GA 369. The teenager died in what the coroner described in an interview with the Atlanta Journal-Constitution as a "massive impact" and "horrific accident." The coroner also indicated that the impact was so violent that the crash split the vehicle in two with the front seat portion of the vehicle traveling almost ¾ of the distance of a football field before coming to a stop.

This disturbing accident involving a speeding driver demonstrates the importance of watching one's speed when there are wet road conditions. A recent report from the Institute for Road Safety Research (IRSR) provides an insightful report on the relationship between vehicle speed and motor vehicle collisions. The report indicates accident rates rise with increasing speeds, but accidents also are more likely when a vehicle travels faster than the average speed of traffic. High rates of speed also result in more serious injuries, especially to occupants of a lighter vehicle that is struck by a heavier vehicle, according to the report.

The IRSR report acknowledges that speed is a factor in every accident because vehicles must be moving at some speed for a collision to occur. However, other factors often combine with excessive speed to cause a collision. While the Cumming accident is still under investigation, it appears that Robins may have been driving too fast for road conditions given the wet road. Adverse weather or unsafe roadway features like a sharp curve that is not well marked and obscured by uneven terrain may increase the risk of violating the speed limit or operating a vehicle too fast for road conditions.

Motor vehicles have become more equipped to protect vehicle occupants from severe injury during a collision during recent decades with shoulder belts, crush areas and airbags. However, the human body is still vulnerable to the enormous amount of kinetic energy that can be released in a collision at high rates of speed. High speed collisions multiply the risk of suffering permanent life-altering injuries like spinal cord injuries, traumatic head injuries, dismemberment, severe burns and other debilitating injuries.

When drivers fail to obey the speed limit or operate a vehicle at a safe speed given road conditions, a vehicle will take longer to slow or stop. A driver also will have less time to process information, make decisions and to employ evasive maneuvers. Speeding drivers are the cause of many injury accidents that result in personal injury lawsuits. If the speed of the other driver partially caused your accident and/or worsened your injuries, you may be entitled to financial compensation.

Our Forsyth County auto accident lawyers at Montlick and Associates are available to provide effective legal representation to clients throughout all of Georgia and the Southeast, including but not limited to Albany, Athens, Atlanta, Augusta, Columbus, Gainesville, Macon, Marietta, Rome, Roswell, Savannah, Smyrna, Valdosta, Warner Robins and all smaller cities and rural areas in the state.

No matter where you are located our attorneys are just a phone call away, and we will even come to you. Call us 24 hours a day/7 days a week for your Free Consultation at 1-800-LAW-NEED (1-800-529-6333). You can also visit us online at www.montlick.com and use our Free Case Evaluation Form or 24-hour Live Online Chat.