A 40-year-old Tennessee man died following a crash on U.S. Interstate 40 on Dec. 18. According to a Tennessee State Police representative, the man was not using a seat belt. Two other individuals in another vehicle were also involved in the collision.
The accident happened when the Knoxville man, driving a Toyota, hit the rear of a Toyota RAV4 in front of him, pushing it off the interstate. The RAV4 had slowed down due to roadway traffic from an accident, authorities said. The occupants of the RAV4 included the 62-year-old male driver, a resident of Corryton, and a 27-year-old man from Knoxville who was a passenger in his vehicle. Both vehicles were heading west on I-40 and were in the vicinity of exit 375 around Lovell Road. Both occupants of the RAV4 were wearing seat belts.
The crash claimed the life of the Toyota driver at around 3:58 a.m. The men in the 2014 RAV4 were transported by ambulance to a local medical facility where the passenger was treated. The driver was not seen at the hospital, according to the medical center's records.
Seat belt usage is critical to roadway safety as is being alert for vehicular traffic. Not keeping a proper distance to allow for sudden stops when traffic slows may result in an auto accident. When a vehicle is rear-ended by another in highway traffic, the occupants of that vehicle may suffer injuries that require medical care, and not all accident injuries are apparent immediately.
The injured motorists may find that they require medical care for injuries or are unable to report for work. Such financial difficulties may be daunting, and an attorney may assist an injured victim of such an accident by filing a personal injury suit against the negligent driver or his or her estate.