Hickory Wrong-Way Accident Involving Eight Vehicles Injures 15
A Hickory, North Carolina wrong-way driving accident involving eight motor vehicles on Highway 321 on Saturday has resulted in multiple injuries. According to police, the North Carolina multi-vehicle crash happened after the driver of a Toyota Tacoma started going the wrong way down Highway 321.
The Toyota reportedly crashed into seven cars. 15 people were injured, five serious enough that they were taken to a local hospital. One car crash victim had to be rushed to the hospital with serious head injuries following a head-on collision. The Highway Patrol thinks that the Toyota was also involved in at least two hit-and-run crashes prior to this multi-vehicle collision.
The Hickory multi-vehicle crash was not the only catastrophic traffic collision involving a wrong-way driver to occur over the weekend. In New York, eight people died after a woman in a minivan drove the wrong way up the Taconic State Parkway, striking two cars.
The minivan’s driver, Diane Schuler, her two-year-old Erin, and three of her nieces, Kate Hance, 5, Alison Hance, 7, and Emma Hance, 9, were killed in the wrong-way driving crash. Schuler’s 5-year-old son, Brian, is being treated at a local hospital. Also killed in the wrong-way driving accident were the people riding in one of the cars that Schuler struck: SUV driver Guy Bastardi, his father Michael, and friend Daniel Longo.
It is unclear why Schuler went the wrong way up the freeway for almost two miles. Police say that a number of people contacted 911 to let them know that there was a van going the wrong way. Schuler’s brother says she contacted him a couple of hours before the tragic accident to tell him she wasn’t feeling well.
Wrong-Way Driving Accidents
Wrong-way driving crashes can lead to devastating accidents for the victims involved. Wrong-way can lead to head-on crashes, placing the occupants of both vehicles involved at risk of getting seriously hurt.
Head-on, wrong way crash in Hickory, Charlotte.com, July 26, 2009
Before Taconic crash, mom Diane Schuler told brother she wasn’t feeling well, NY Daily News, July 27, 2009
Related Web Resources:
Proving Fault in Personal Injury Accidents: General Rules, Nolo
Car Accidents Overview, Justia
