Fatal car accidents often need an extensive investigation to uncover what caused the accident and who was responsible for causing the accident. Often, investigations into fatal accident are made more complicated by the fact that the drivers and passengers involved in the wreck are so badly injured, that they cannot tell investigators what happened. As a result, accident reconstruction and forensic analysis is often required to fully understand what happened in a fatal motor vehicle accident.
A recent collision near the border town of Douglas, Arizona, is an example of an accident that requires a serious investigation.
According to news reports, a van carrying farm workers to a dairy farm in Wilcox and a pickup truck collided head on with terrible consequences. Both vehicles burst into flames, and the drivers of both vehicles were pronounced dead at the scene of the accident. In addition, two passengers in the van did not survive the accident. Four more passengers in the van needed to be airlifted to Tucson-area hospitals with serious injuries.
In any fatal accident investigation, investigators need to look at important factors, including road and weather conditions, visibility and the condition of the drivers.
According to investigators from the Arizona Department of Public Safety, the accident happened at about 4:30 a.m. on U.S. 191, about three miles north of Douglas, as the result of the pickup truck crossing the center line. Investigators will also undoubtedly be looking into whether alcohol, drugs, driver distraction or driver fatigue played a role in causing this accident.
Source: Lake Wylie Pilot, “Head-on collision in southeastern Arizona kills 4,” May 30, 2013