Tag: traffic accidents

Having driven this stretch of I-40 in Arizona many times before I know from first hand experience how treacherous the hill west of Williams can be in snowy weather. Unfortunately this time the accident that occurred was extremely deadly:

Arizona officials are working to determine whether additional human remains discovered in the debris of a fatal pileup crash on Interstate 40 on March 13 are those of the South Korean family who went missing in the area at the time of the crash.

Jiyeon Lee, Taehee Kim and Junghee Kim have been missing for nearly two weeks after driving through a winter storm on their road trip between the Grand Canyon and Las Vegas.

Investigators have confirmed that one of the vehicles in the collision, which involved multiple passenger vehicles that “were rear-ended, pushing them into, and in some cases, underneath crashed tractor-trailers,” was a BMW SUV, an update from the Coconino County Sheriff’s Office said on Monday. The family had been traveling in a BMW rental vehicle, the sheriff’s office said.

CNN

You can read more at the link.

If measures are taken to reduce elderly drivers in South Korea it will be interesting to see what the impact is to the taxi industry which seems to have a lot of older drivers:

Authorities conduct a recovery work at the scene of the car crash that killed nine pedestrians at an intersection near Seoul City Hall in central Seoul, July 1. Yonhap

Public opinion is reigniting over the need for stricter measures for older drivers after a 68-year-old man involved in a deadly car crash near Seoul City Hall, which claimed nine lives, was identified.

However, there are growing concerns that this debate could deteriorate into indiscriminate criticism or personal attacks on older drivers.

Even before last week’s tragedy, how to deal with older drivers — specifically, encouraging older drivers to return their licenses — has been a hot-button issue as the number of drivers aged 65 or older is increasing steadily amid the nation’s aging population.

Just two days after the fatal car crash, a taxi driven by a man in his 70s crashed into the National Medical Center building, Wednesday, where an altar had been set up for one of the victims of the City Hall car crash, injuring three people, one seriously.

On Saturday, another incident occurred near Seoul Station, where a car driven by a man in his 80s struck pedestrians while attempting a U-turn, injuring two people. The vehicle continued for about 20 meters after hitting the first pedestrian before striking another and stopped after crashing into a wall.

Korea Times

You can read more at the link.

Condolences to the friends and family of the Soldier killed in this accident:

One American soldier was killed and another injured after their vehicle struck a guardrail on a road in Pyeongtaek early Sunday.

Spc. Dajour Cleveland, 23, was killed in the collision near Osan Air Base, according to an emailed statement from Eighth Army spokesman Lt. Col. Neil Penttila. 

Cleveland was a signal support systems specialist attached to the 94th Military Police Battalion, 19th Expeditionary Sustainment Command, at Camp Humphreys.

“We are fully cooperating with the Korean National Police to determine the cause of the traffic accident and thank first responders for their efforts at the scene,” the statement said.

The driver, an unidentified American soldier, was being treated for injuries at Camp Humphreys on Monday, a Pyeongtaek Police investigator told Stars and Stripes by phone the same day. South Korean officials customarily speak to media under the condition of anonymity.

The collision occurred on a curved, two-lane road at around 12:50 a.m., the investigator said. The privately owned vehicle is believed by investigators to have collided with the guardrail on the right-side of the road.

The driver “appears to have not been turning well to the direction he wanted to go,” the investigator said. He said an investigation into the cause of the crash is underway.

Stars & Stripes

You can read more at the link.

This is terrible:

An Eighth Army soldier who died with his wife and their 16-month-old child in a car crash in South Korea earlier in the week was identified by his command on Wednesday.

Army Spc. Luis Taveras, 27, of Jamaica Plain, Mass., his wife, Lisbeth, 30, and their son, Luis, were killed when their vehicle collided with a tow truck around 11 p.m. Monday near Camp Humphreys.

Taveras was a quartermaster and chemical equipment repairer with the 19th Expeditionary Sustainment Command. He served four years in the Army and arrived in South Korea in June.

Stars and Stripes

You can read more at the link, but condolences to all SPC Taveras’s friends and family.

This is a creative defense when this sailor probably just dozed off at the wheel after climbing up Mt. Fuji:

A U.S. naval officer, facing 4 ½ years in a Japanese prison, described in court Tuesday how he lost consciousness driving home from Mount Fuji and caused an accident that ultimately claimed the lives of two people.

Lt. Ridge Hanneman Alkonis, 33, crashed his car into pedestrians and parked vehicles at a soba restaurant parking lot in Fujinomiya on May 29, according to an indictment. The city is about two hours from Yokosuka Naval Base, where Alkonis is assigned to the destroyer USS Benfold as a weapons officer.

Alkonis, who is charged with negligent driving resulting in death, said he lost consciousness due to acute mountain sickness, a common set of symptoms that occur with a trip to high altitude.

Killed in the crash was a woman, 85, who died that day, and a man, 54, who died in a hospital on June 11. A second woman, 53, suffered bruises to her knees and elbows.

Stars & Stripes

You can read more at the link.

This was a horrible accident believed to have been caused by icy roads:

At least three people were killed and 43 others injured Monday in two expressway pileups in southwestern South Korea following heavy snow, authorities said.

At least six of the 43 hurt were said to be in critical conditions.

The first accident occurred at 12:23 p.m. when a tank truck carrying nitric acid reportedly ran into a small pile of cars involved in an earlier accident inside a tunnel on a highway connecting Suncheon and Wanju in North Jeolla Province.

About a dozen other vehicles ran into the truck, which had spilled its load and caught fire, according to police and rescue officials.

The third and latest victim was found in a car crushed under the tank truck. Those injured have been taken to a nearby hospital for treatment.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

There was a horrible accident over the weekend outside of Yongsan Garrison’s Gate 13:

An American family headed to a high school graduation ceremony on Yongsan Garrison was struck by tragedy on Saturday when their car was involved in a fatal collision with a motorcycle.

The crash, which occurred outside Gate 13, killed two people — one American and the South Korean motorcycle driver — and injured another American, garrison spokesman Wes Hayes told Stars and Stripes.

Hayes declined to identify the casualties and said the cause of the crash remained under investigation.

“Our hearts and prayers go out to all the victims of this tragic accident today,” Hayes said.

Many members of the community gathered at a chapel on post after the graduation ceremony to console each other and grieve.

A person at the chapel said the fatality was an American girl who was with her family on the way to watch her brother graduate from Seoul American High School. Her father, a civilian, was reportedly in critical condition.  [Stars & Stripes]

You can read more at the link, but hat tip to ROK Head Guitard for leaving the below link that shows the aftermath of this accident:

This next video shows the injured American father asking for help:

Condolences to all the family and friends effected by this tragic accident.