Juan Gonzalez and Brian Law Killed In Kingsburg Crash

California Highway Patrol officers are mourning the loss of two of their brothers who were killed in a Kingsburg traffic accident recently. The two officers, Juan Gonzalez and Brian Law, died instantly from trauma sustained when their car overturned after Gonzalez, who was driving, apparently tried to avoid a road hazard. Ironically, Officer Gonzalez’s fiancée passed the accident on her way to work that morning without realizing that it was her loved one in the crash.

Rollover Crashes Among Most Deadly of All Car Accidents

In March 2007 the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration did an examination of rollover crash data and drew some conclusions about rollover car accidents. Their findings showed that:

• Compared to fatality rates in non-rollover crashes, people died in rollover accidents ten times more often, at a rate of 2.7 percent. Nearly three percent of all rollover crashes resulted in a fatality, while only 0.2 percent of all accidents in general resulted in fatalities.
• About one-third of all vehicle fatalities involved rollover crashes.
• Many rollover vehicle accidents involved only a single vehicle.
• SUVs had the highest ejection rate in rollover crashes.
• A total of 10,553 people in 2004 were fatally injured in rollover crashes.
• Increased speed not only increased the probability of a rollover but also the probability of a fatality in that rollover accident.
• Oddly, while light trucks had a much higher rollover rate, these rollovers presented a lower fatality rate than that of passenger vehicles. It is possible that this lower rate is due to better “caging” of light trucks due to the fact that they are known to be more susceptible to rollover.

Ideally, drivers would proceed with extreme caution at all times and avoid rollovers. However, many rollover accidents occur before the driver or occupants of the vehicle are even aware that there is a problem, as evidenced by the absence of skid marks at the scene of many of these accidents.

What To Do If You Are Injured in a Rollover Crash

If you are injured in a rollover crash, it is very important that you seek legal representation to protect your rights. You may be entitled to payment of monetary damages including medical bills and sums for pain and suffering as well as physical damage costs and lost wages. Consult a personal injury attorney to learn about your rights and how you may be able to recover damages for your injuries.