Most states have laws that limit what new drivers are allowed to do. Teenagers are required to gain road experience gradually, before earning the same rights as fully-licensed drivers. However, laws do not differentiate between drivers’ experience and inexperience when it comes to negligent actions.
A passerby prevented a Wisconsin crash from becoming a fatal car accident by pulling a young victim from an SUV, before the vehicle burst into flames. The auto accident happened near Pittsville in Wood County.
Wood County sheriff’s deputies report a 16-year-old driver slammed his vehicle into an SUV on Highway 13. Witnesses told investigators that it appeared the Pittsville boy overcorrected while attempting to make a U-turn near Hickory Road.
The error caused the teenage driver’s car to cross the centerline and crash head-on into an oncoming sport-utility vehicle. The SUV driver, a Neillsville resident, was thrown from the vehicle. A 3-year-old passenger remained inside.
The Wisconsin Department of Transportation reported that a nearby motorist rescued the boy from the wreckage, just before the SUV caught fire.
All three people involved in the accident suffered varying degrees of injuries. The 46-year-old woman that was ejected was transported to Ministry Saint Joseph’s Hospital in Marshfield. The child and teen were taken to Marshfield Hospital.
An accident reconstruction team from Wisconsin State Patrol was assigned to investigate the incident.
Some victims who live through violent accidents suffer little, or no, permanent consequences. Other patients are left with disabilities and other physical or psychological problems that require months or years of treatment.
State police will speak with the injured 16-year-old driver who lost control of his car. Investigators will try to determine if the accident was caused by the teen’s inexperience or if other factors came into play.
Source: wisconsinrapidstribune.com, “3 hospitalized after crash,” Deb Cleworth, June 9, 2012
