Heavy fog and speed are being cited as the likely cause of a fatal, single-vehicle crash in Limington recently, claiming the life of a 23-year-old woman from the same town.
Three others are injured, including the driver. One of the other passengers has been listed in critical condition, while the two other have been deemed “stable.”
The fiery wreck occurred sometime around 3:45 a.m. A local homeowner heard the sound of the wreck and rushed to the woods near his home to assist. He helped pull the driver and another passenger, who were trapped inside, from the burning vehicle. The decedent and other passenger (who is in critical condition) were both ejected from the vehicle.
According to authorities, the 20-year-old driver was heading west when he lost control of the vehicle, struck a guardrail, rolled over, careened into the woods and slammed into a group of trees.
The vehicle then burst into flames. The homeowner who rushed to help was able to extinguish the fire before firefighters arrived on scene.
All of the occupants of the vehicle were in their 20s. It is not yet clear whether alcohol may have been a factor. Police are continuing to investigate while families of those involved are no doubt reeling from this awful news.
While we often talk of accidents in terms of multiple vehicles being involved, a significant number of crashes involve just one vehicle. In a 2008 report to Congress, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration asserted approximately 675,000 crashes in the U.S. each year involve just one vehicle. That’s nearly 31 percent of the 2.2 million crashes that occur annually. Meanwhile, 57 percent of accidents involve two vehicles and just 12 percent involve three or more vehicles.
Our Bangor auto accident attorneys recognize there are unique advantages as well as challenges when working to obtain compensation for victims in single-vehicle crashes.
One benefit is that, generally speaking, there is little doubt as to who is at-fault and therefore liable is clearer. There is only one driver to analyze, so determining fault is usually not difficult. There are sometimes outside forces that may come into play (a wild animal, a “phantom vehicle” that runs the car off the road or some other factor).
The challenge can be getting coverage from a single auto insurer, which likely has policy limits that could diminish the amount each individual can receive or will cap per-accident damage.
Most policies provide the following types of coverage:
- Liability (pays for bodily injuries and property damage caused by insured to a third person)
- Collision (pays for damage to the insured for damage done by another vehicle or object)
- No-fault (insured receives coverage for property damage and personal injury, regardless of fault)
- Comprehensive (insured is paid for losses due to something other than a crash with another car or object)
There may also be uninsured/underinsured motorist benefits for those passengers who require more compensation than the policy limits allow. This assumes the passenger has UM/UIM coverage through his or her own carrier.
An attorney can help you determine which type of coverage is applicable and available and make a strong case for compensation.
If you are the victim of a Bangor car accident, contact Peter Thompson & Associates at 1-800-804-2004 for a confidential consultation to discuss your rights.
Additional Resources:
1 dead, 2 injured in Limington Crash, by CBS 13
More Blog Entries:
Healing From Maine Auto Accident Injuries an Ongoing Struggle, May 10, 2015, Bangor Injury Lawyer Blog