A late night rollover on Eastex Freeway took the life of four young Texans and critically injured another. The driver of the blue Ford pickup truck hit a curb and sent the truck rolling, causing the fatal accident.
Three of the young men, estimated to be in their teens or early twenties by police, died at the scene. Two were taken to nearby Ben Taub General Hospital for treatment; one did not survive his injuries and the other was last known to be in critical condition.
Toxicology tests have been ordered on the driver to determine whether drugs or alcohol played a role in the fatal rollover crash.
Rollover Accidents – The Deadliest Of All Crashes
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), despite the relatively uncommon occurrence of rollover accidents, they remain the most dangerous of all crashes. Slightly more than two percent of accidents in 2010 were rollover incidents. But, rollovers accounted for 35 percent of all fatal accidents.
In 2010, well over 7,000 people were killed in rollover accidents. The vast majority of these fatal rollover victims were not wearing a seatbelt.
Most rollover accidents involve only one vehicle, suggesting that driver behavior or driver error may be the single most common factor in rollover crashes. Speed and alcohol are commonly associated with rollover crashes as well. Drivers traveling at excessive speeds caused 40 percent of all rollover crashes in 2010. Just over half of the fatal rollover accidents in 2010 involved drivers impaired by alcohol.
Source: Houston Chronicle, “4 dead, 1 critical after rollover accident overnight,” Erin Mulvaney, December 16, 2012