In Massachusetts, two serious Brockton motor vehicle accidents have left its victims with injuries. On Friday morning, two sisters from East Bridgewater got hurt when their compact car was involved in an accident with a tractor-trailer.
19-year-old Esther Martinez sustained a fractured skull, two spinal fractures, brain contusions, serious facial factures, and a broken collar bone. She had 32 stitches on her head. As of Monday, she was reportedly in critical condition at Brigham & Women’s Hospital. Her sister, 21-year-old Cristina Martinez, sustained a broken elbow and wrist.
The deadly Massachusetts tractor-trailer crash happened on Route 24 northbound close to exit 18. The sisters’ vehicle was totaled during the traffic collision. Fortunately, both women were using seat belts at the time of the accident.
In another Brockton traffic accident, a 60-year-old Massachusetts woman suffered serious injuries in a pedestrian accident when she was struck by a car on Monday. The pedestrian was pushed under the vehicle of another driver, whose vehicle was rear-ended by the first vehicle.
NHTSA: 2008 Motor Vehicle Crash Deaths
Motor vehicle crashes continue to be a leading cause of death in Massachusetts and the rest of the country. The US Department of Transportation, however, had some good news to report this week when it issued its 2008 motor vehicle crash death toll.
With 37,313 traffic fatalities occurring last year, there hasn’t been so low a motor vehicle fatality total since 1961 when there were 36,285 deaths. Massachusetts, unfortunately, was named prominently in the update as having the lowest state ranking for seat belt use. While the national average for seat belt use is 83%, Massachusetts’s 68.8% is low, down by 1.9% from 2007.
In Massachusetts, as in 21 other US states, police officers can’t stop a motorist for not using a seat belt. Police can only ticket drivers for not wearing safety belts if they apprehended them for other reasons.
Regardless of whether or not you were using a seat belt, if you were injured in a Massachusetts car collision, bus accident, truck crash, bicycle accident, or pedestrian accident because another motorist or another party was negligent, you have legal options for recovery.
Woman hit by car outside Brockton store flown to Boston hospital, Wicked Local, April 7, 2009
East Bridgewater sisters recovering after serious crash in Brockton, Wicked Local, April 6, 2009
Mass. ranks last again in US for use of seat belts, Boston.com, April 7, 2009
U.S. Transportation Secretary LaHood Announces Record Low Traffic Deaths, Improved State Seat Belt Use, NHTSA, April 6, 2009
Related Web Resources:
Early Estimates of Motor Vehicle Traffic Fatalities in 2008, NHTSA, March 2009 (PDF)
Seat Belt Use in 2008, NHTSA (PDF)
Executive Office of Transportation , Mass.gov
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