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Earlier this month, five traffic accident fatalities occurred over just a two day period, in the Colorado Springs area.
The first accident was a harrowing incident involving an allegedly stolen bus that was in a destructive crash on Highway 83, on the morning of Thursday, November 5th.
According to the Colorado State Patrol, a 20-year-old male named Daihauonzadre Brooks-Jones stole a bus from a nursing home in Aurora. Brooks-Jones managed to evade the police for a few hours as he made his way over to the Colorado Springs area, and around 11 a.m. that morning, he crashed into two different vehicles, an SUV and a Honda Pilot, in Black Forest.
One of the passengers in the Honda, a 66-year-old man named Sergio Sanchez, tragically died in the crash, along with the driver of the SUV. Four other passengers in the Honda were also seriously injured, including a 7-year-old child.
Brooks-Jones was also injured in the crash, and was treated and then taken into custody. He is facing numerous charges, including vehicular homicide and violent crime causing death/serious bodily injury, among many others.
The other traffic fatalities that happened over the course of this two day period, included two separate accidents, one on U.S. Highway 24, that involved three vehicles total, a head-on crash that involved a garbage truck on Interstate 25, and finally a single vehicle fatal motorcycle accident that took place on Oro Blanco Drive later on Friday night.
Colorado Springs Has a Traffic Safety Problem
In a recent study from Wallethub, Colorado Springs was listed as one of the 60 worst cities to drive in in the United States, coming in at #55. But what is it that makes Colorado Springs such a dangerous place to drive?
Possible issues include a lack of personnel in the Colorado Springs Police Department sufficient for adequately monitoring intersection traffic, which enables drivers to run red and yellow lights at very dangerous speeds.
In response to this particular issue, the CSPD installed red-light cameras that capture images of red light runners, and automatically issue them a ticket.
In 2018, El Paso County saw the most traffic fatalities of any other county in Colorado, and most of those took place in the Colorado Springs area.
That was a record high for fatal traffic accidents in the region, with 48 of these crashes occurring, five more than the previous record of 43, which was set in 1986.
To help combat this disturbing trend, local authorities are urging everyone in the community to avoid the most common behaviors that cause these types of accidents. A change of behavior in the community is necessary, because efforts made by the city, such as red light traffic cameras, can only go so far in preventing these types of tragedies.
City authorities are encouraging drivers to take the following steps:
- Treat bicyclists the same way that you treat other motor vehicles, and recognize they have the legal right to be on the roadways, and all of the protections that come with that legal right.
- Don’t drive distracted. Smartphones and other devices have helped create more dangerous road conditions around the country, as drivers take their eyes off the road to look at their devices. You can do your part to help while driving a vehicle, by keeping your device in secure place, like the glovebox, where it will be less likely to entice you to check it at inappropriate times.
- Don’t speed, and always stick to driving the speed limit. Faster speeds mean less reaction time, should something unexpected happen.
- Be particularly vigorous in paying attention to your surroundings while driving. If we all train ourselves to be better at spotting our fellow citizens on the road who may be more vulnerable in an accident, such as pedestrians, motorcyclists and bicyclist, we’ll be better able to spot them before something tragic occurs.
Further Reading: Study Looks at Fatal Halloween Car Accidents Over 25 Year Period
Contact Our Colorado Springs Pedestrian Accident Lawyers Today
Have you or a loved one been injured by the negligent actions of a driver? Are you concerned you won’t have the money to pay medical bills and lost expenses? If so, you need an experienced Colorado Springs accident lawyer on your side to help you fight for justice.
Contact the dedicated attorneys at the Green Law Firm, P.C. today by calling (719) 694-8515, or by filling out the contact form on this page, to schedule a free, no-obligation consultation and discuss your case.