Five Are Injured in Head-on Virginia Beach Crash on Independence Boulevard

Head-on accidents are among the most serious crashes we see as personal injury lawyers in Virginia Beach.

I was alarmed to read reports this morning about how a head-on crash caused injuries and closed down Independence Boulevard in Virginia Beach in both directions at Jericho Road for several hours.

Virginia Beach dispatchers told WAVY.com they “received the report of an accident with injuries on Independence Blvd. shortly before 6:30 a.m.”

Virginia Beach police said in a press release an SUV that was traveling southbound on Independence Boulevard, crossed the median at Jericho Road and hit a sedan head-on. Five people were inured in the crash. One of them sustained life-threatening injuries, according to police. My thoughts are with those who were injured in this serious accident.

Northbound and southbound traffic was being re-routed to Jericho Road on Thursday morning. Drivers are advised to use an alternative route. Images from the scene showed two vehicles with extensive front end damage.

Head-on collisions often leave victims with serious or fatal injuries. Last year I reported on how a collision of this nature the killed a wife and injured her husband close to West Virginia. It later resulted in a $400,000 settlement.

A 52-year-old man and his wife were driving on Route 340 towards Rippon in West Virginia when they were involved in a head-on crash. Virginia Lawyers Weekly reported on how the at-fault driver, who was a minor at the time, and had a learner’s permit was driving west on Route 340 with his father in the car. He fell asleep at the wheel and swerved into the lane of the couple, hitting another car head-on.

In a recent head-on accident on Nansemond Parkway in Suffolk, a 58-year-old man died.

Approximately a fifth of all accidents are head-on collisions. Figures in 1999 from the Fatal Analysis Reporting System (FARS) indicate that 18 percent of fatal crashes away from interchanges were two vehicles colliding head-on. The percentage was the same for 1997 and 1998 data. In addition, this data revealed that:

• 75 percent of head-on crashes occur on rural roads,
• 75 percent of head-on crashes occur on undivided two-lane roads, and
• 83 percent of two-lane undivided road crashes occur on rural roads.

Cooper Hurley injury Lawyers is the author of Top Twenty Tips for Car, Truck or Motorcycle Accidents. Remember, if you can, take pictures of damage to all vehicles as well as an accident scene. Be sure to collect names, addresses and phone numbers of any witnesses for future reference. Call Cooper Hurley at 757.455.0077. When It Really Counts, Count on Cooper Hurley.