Crash Tragically Kills One on Startown Road in Catawba County, North Carolina, (NC)

CATAWBA COUNTY, NC- Whky.com writes that a deadly wreck occurred this week in Catawba County in the mid-afternoon. The incident left one person dead.* 

Reports indicate that the crash took place on  Startown Road not far from its intersection with West Maiden Road. A 1995 Dodge Dakota pickup truck was driving northbound when the driver veered across the center line and into oncoming traffic. The pickup truck struck another pickup truck head-on. The other truck was identified as a 2006 Dodge Ram 1500. 

The 54-year-old man from Maiden, who was driving the Dakota, was killed at the scene of the crash. The other driver, who was also from Maiden, was severely injured in the collision and was transported to the Catawba Valley Medical Center located in Hickory. The surviving victim’s injuries are not considered life-threatening. 

The crash is still under investigation. Police have reported that they do not believe that alcohol or speeding were factors in the wreck. The authorities closed the roadway for about two hours while investigators and crews worked at the scene. 

Head-on crashes are often deadly. One way for drivers to avoid becoming a victim in a deadly head-on crash is to stay off of roadways where the speed limit is above 40 miles per hour, but the opposite moving lanes of traffic are not separated by any type of median. At just 43 miles per hour, there is a good chance that a head-on impact will lead to fatal injuries. 

The speed at which vehicles are traveling will play a major role in the severity of a collision. Drivers can also reduce their risk of being injured or killed by slowing down. 

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 a 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:

http://www.whky.com/archive/item/30764-man-killed-in-catawba-county-crash#.XvIiEWhKjIV

https://www.thecarcrashdetective.com/how-to-survive-a-head-on-collision-slow-down-to-below-43mph/#:~:text=To%20put%20it%20simply%2C%20if,no%20higher%20than%2043%20mph.

https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/publications/research/safety/17098/003.cfm#:~:text=The%20study%20determined%20that%20speed,severe%20injuries%20in%20a%20crash.&text=As%20shown%20in%20table%203,probability%20of%20an%20injury%20crash.