On Thursday, December 12th, multiple vehicles on US 91 near the intersection of Legacy drive were involved in an elaborate collision. Many of the individuals were left injured and one person was fatally wounded.
At roughly 1:25 p.m, the first vehicle, a 2006 Mazda Tribute, was traveling northbound on US 91. The driver of this vehicle was a 77-year-old man from Logan, Utah. As he was traveling north, he passed the intersection of Legacy drive and stopped in the road, before reversing in the lane to get back to the intersection. A second vehicle, a 2021 Dodge Ram driven by a 32-year-old man from Franklin, Idaho, was traveling southbound with the intention of making a left turn onto legacy drive. He began to make his turn, but stopped between the two lanes in an attempt to avoid the reversing Mazda. Before he could move, a third vehicle, a 1999 Dodge Ram driven by a 20-year-old man from Franklin, came upon them traveling northbound. He tried to avoid the stopped vehicles and swerved into the southbound lanes and struck the 2021 Dodge, before continuing on to strike another fourth vehicle also traveling southbound. This vehicle was a 2018 Jeep Renegade, and it was driven by a 23-year-old woman from Preston Idaho. As she was traveling southbound, the 1999 Dodge swerved into her lane and they collided head on.
The drivers of the Mazda and the 2021 Dodge were both wearing seatbelts and they only sustained minor injuries. The driver of the 1999 Dodge was not wearing a seatbelt, but also only sustained minor injuries. The 23-year-old driver of the Jeep was wearing a seatbelt, but she sustained major injuries and passed at the scene.
We are very sorry to hear about this loss and we send our deepest condolences to the loved ones of the woman who passed in this accident.
Unfortunately, according to Idaho Transportation Department’s crash report in 2023, multiple vehicle crashes accounted for 72% of all motor vehicle crashes in 2023, leaving a total of 19,807 multi-vehicle crashes. Of that total, 151 of those crashes resulted in fatality, and 594 caused serious injury.
LIABILTIY FOR ACCIDENTS IN IDAHO
No one who gets into or drives a vehicle wants to be involved in an accident. But unfortunately, car accidents happen. Idaho uses a fault-based system to impose liability on the party most at-fault for the accident. A legal principle called “comparative negligence,” is applied to determine the negligence of all involved parties. If the Plaintiff’s negligence is less than 50%, then she generally can recover damages from the Defendant (or the Defendant’s insurance policy).
Our personal injury attorneys can advise injured persons about their particular case and how Idaho’s legal principles of negligence, causation, and liability apply to it.
Notes: The information used to create this blog post comes primarily from the Idaho State Police News Releases. Information has not been independently verified by this firm. Please report any inaccuracies in this post to our firm. We will correct or remove the article, if asked.
Disclaimer: This blog is not intended as solicitation for professional employment to a specific person. It is intended as a legal news and advertisement post. The post does not constitute legal or medical advice.