San Antonio accident investigators are recovering from one of the worst weeks of road accidents in Bexar County and the San Antonio area this year. Friday closed out the week with three fatalities and several injuries in an accident involving multiple trucks and one involving an out of control vehicle. Friday’s accidents contributed to a year that’s already seen more traffic fatality and injury by the middle of June than the previous year’s totals. Statistics for the San Antonio area indicate that by this time last year, police had investigated 63 fatal accidents—this year they have investigated 70. Additionally, there have been an unusually high number of accidents involving multiple fatalities, and therefore even more overall fatalities and injuries.
This tragic week, which also included a drunk driving accident that claimed the life of a mother and four children and left a father in critical condition, has emphasized the need for caution on the part of San Antonio drivers and motorists. Despite the self-perceptions of most motorists, the overwhelming majority of auto accidents resulting in fatality or personal injury involve some sort of easily preventable driver error. Apart from alcohol or other intoxicating substances, common contributing factors include excessive speed, driver distraction from radios or cell phones, fatigue, and failure to take basic precautions for adverse conditions, such as inclement weather and low light.
Friday’s accidents were no exception to this rule. The first accident involved a truck rear-ending another truck that had slowed down; investigators suspect excessive speed and aggressive tail-gating may have been major contributing factors. The second accident involved a car overturning and careening off the road on a sharp curve near San Antonio’s south side. The driver of the car, who was found dead at the site of the wreck, was not wearing a seatbelt, and accident investigators concluded that excessive speed and reckless driving were to blame for this wreck, as well; the driver took the curve too fast and flipped when he overcorrected, investigators say.
One unidentified investigator commented that motorists simply needed to be more careful about their speed. “How many times have you been going down the street and there are people flying out there?” He said. “There are not enough cops on the street to slow everybody down. For some reason, everybody’s in a big hurry.” It’s not clear yet if the higher rate of accidents in San Antonio this year is a coincidence or the result of some as yet undetected cause. In the meantime, personal injury lawyers in San Antonio are joining police in reminding drivers to stay mindful of their speed, and standing by to help those suffering injury or damages from reckless driving.
