Bizarre car accident in New York kills 3

Three people are dead and several others are injured following a bizarre wrong-way crash in Syracuse. New York police responded to a man driving north on a southbound roadway, but were unsuccessful in preventing the car accident. An investigation has yet to explain what the driver was doing in the oncoming lane. 

The police report said the 68-year-old man had run his car into bushes on the side of Route 481 before reversing back onto the road and beginning to drive northbound in the southbound lanes. A police officer attempted to stop him by parking his vehicle in the path of the driver, but the man swerved around him and continued on his way. The man eventually struck several other vehicles after causing mayhem on the highway for several miles. 

The occupants of the first vehicle he struck were among the victims. Twin sisters, both 69, were killed in the collision. The driver, who was married to one of the twins, was seriously injured. The wrong-way driver was also killed in the crash. Police are now in the process of determining what made him not only travel the wrong way, but also refuse to stop for officers attempting to avoid tragedy. 

A car accident involving an older person can be influenced by many factors, some of which could even be health related. However, it is the responsibility of all drivers in New York to accurately assess their ability to operate a motor vehicle safely. Given the nature of this accident, the family of the deceased women as well as the surviving injured are all entitled to file personal injury and wrongful death suits against the driver’s estate in civil court. 

Source: syracuse.com, “Wrong-way driver in fatal Route 481 crash swerved around police car parked to stop him“, Samantha House, Nov. 8, 2016