Wake County Tragic Head-On Crash Leads to Charges Against Driver

WAKE COUNTY, NC- Cbs17.com writes that a crash took the life of a man and injured his daughter over the weekend. The incident occurred in the morning on Bethlehem Road near Knightdale.*

Reports indicated that a man operating a GMC pickup truck fell asleep and drifted across the road’s centerline and into oncoming traffic. The pickup truck hit the 33-year-old man from Clayton head-on. 

The victim reportedly attempted to avoid the accident by turning into a parking lot, but the truck hit the man’s driver’s side door. The other driver, identified as a 26-year-old man from Knightdale, is now facing charges for misdemeanor death by motor vehicle. 

The area where this incident occurred is particularly prone to crashes. Reports indicate that between 2014 and 2018, 13 crashes took place in the same vicinity. 

The man died at the scene of the crash, and his daughter suffered injuries and was rushed to a local hospital for treatment. 

The man operating the pickup truck was also transported to the hospital. 

Roads that are not divided present the risk of head-on collisions. Drowsy, drunk, or distracted drivers often veer across a centerline on the road and can cause a fatal wreck in an instant. At just 43 miles per hour, the risk of a head-on collision turning deadly is high. This is true even when the occupants are in safe vehicles and using their seatbelts. Many safety experts feel that these types of roads simply should not exist. The speed limits on these streets could be reduced to 40 miles per hour, or medians could be placed to prevent cars from easily passing into traffic that is heading in the opposite direction. 

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://www.cbs17.com/news/local-news/wake-county-news/wake-county-road-where-dad-died-daughter-was-hurt-in-crash-is-prone-to-wrecks/ and https://www.thecarcrashdetective.com/how-to-survive-a-head-on-collision-slow-down-to-below-43mph/