The actions (or inactions) of one person can have a tremendous effect on the lives of multiple individuals when that person is behind the wheel of an automobile. Slamming one multi-ton piece of machinery into another can have horrific fallout for everyone involved but, as the number of cars on our streets increases, so do the number of multiple-victim crashes. This truth was brought horrifically to light earlier this year when a car accident in Arkansas injured multiple victims and left a trail of destruction and debris throughout a busy intersection. The whole thing was caused because a driver failed to stop for a red light at an intersection in Springdale.

Red Lights Don’t Stop Everyone

Police investigators were able to cobble together eyewitness testimony and physical evidence to reconstruct the crash and found that the inattention of one driver caused the entire mess. Oftentimes with serious car crashes, a team of accident reconstructionists would need to be called in to reconstruct a scene, but luckily the police officers onsite were able to get the answers they needed there at the scene and with eyewitness testimony.

The accident report shows that the at-fault driver failed to stop at a red light at an intersection. Not only did they fail to stop, they were also traveling at such a high rate of speed that the initial impact didn’t stop or significantly slow them down. Indeed, their vehicle came into contact with one vehicle then continued through the intersection and smashed into two more.

Unfortunately, these types of failure to stop car accidents in Arkansas are becoming more and more common because of distracted drivers. When a driver is looking down at a phone or reaching over to pick up a phone to answer an incoming call, they can’t be looking at the light as it’s changing, which sometimes results in a deadly mistake.

Red Light Car Accident Fatalities in Arkansas at a 10-Year High

According to statistics published by AAA, the number of fatal car accidents caused by one driver running a red light (or other traffic control devices such as a stop sign) reached a 10-year high in 2017. The data shows a 28% increase in such accidents since 2012 and now equates to two people being killed every day nationwide simply because a driver runs a red light.

Disturbingly, this increase in intersection-related fatal car accidents is actually outpacing the increase in total fatalities. For the same period of time, the total number of people killed in car accidents only rose by 10%.

The researchers who authored the study couldn’t find any evidence concretely linked to this dramatic increase but safety advocates suspect speed plays a role in multiple-vehicle crashes at intersections.

Determining Liability in Multiple Vehicle Car Crashes in Arkansas

If you or a loved one has been injured by an impatient or reckless driver while waiting for the light to turn at an intersection, the key to your personal financial recovery process is proving liability. In some cases, proving liability is fairly easy. In others, not everything is so cut-and-dry.

There can be extenuating circumstances such as:

Visibility issues caused by bushes or objects;
Mechanical failures;
Errors in signal patterns;
Weather conditions.

And if any of these circumstances can be used to lower the at-fault driver’s liability, you can bet they will be.

Having an experienced car accident lawyer in Arkansas on your side is often the best course of action. A knowledgeable car wreck lawyer handling your claim from beginning to end allows the attorney to begin collecting and preserving crucial evidence immediately. Being able to collect all the evidence that is available, from beginning to end, results in a solid case with a larger financial recovery.

Contact the legal experts at the Pfeifer Law Firm. Call 501-374-4440 for a free consultation today or get in touch online. We are here for you.