Drivers must be aware at all times on Missouri roadways. There are a multitude of things demanding a driver’s attention while driving: other vehicles, signs, the radio, things going on at work or at home, etc. Inattention to driving is one of the leading causes in crashes and fatal motor vehicle accidents.

On a recent Wednesday afternoon, at about 2:30 p.m., in Franklin County, a 34-year-old man headed northbound on Highway 47 was waiting to turn left in his small car. At that moment a 79-year-old woman driving an SUV rear-ended the man’s car, pushing his vehicle into oncoming traffic. The car was hit head-on by a concrete truck that was traveling south. The impact rotated the car and it struck the SUV and a fourth vehicle.

The man driving the car was rushed to a nearby hospital, but sadly, was pronounced dead at 3 p.m. He was not wearing a seat belt. The Missouri Highway Patrol said the woman in the SUV and the driver of the concrete truck were wearing seat belts at the time of the accident. Both of these drivers suffered moderate injuries.

Fatal motor vehicle accidents are a devastating reality in Missouri. It can be hard to determine who is at fault in an accident, but when a driver is determined to have been negligent and that negligence resulted in a fatality, the remaining family of the victim has the right to pursue a lawsuit. A successful wrongful death suit may result in compensation to help the family of the deceased with funeral and medical payments as well as with the pain and suffering they will endure.

Source: stltoday.com, “Gray Summit man killed in Franklin County crash involving concrete truck“, Valerie Schremp Hahn, July 22, 2015