1 Dead Following Crash Was the Only Unrestrained Passenger

One man is dead following a two-vehicle collision in Ector County, Texas, on Monday, July 19th. The decedent was the only one out of five victims involved who was not wearing a safety belt at the time of the crash.

According to the Texas Department of Public Safety, a 19-year-old man died in a car accident involving four other people on Monday. Officers were called to the scene on State Highway 302 at around 10 p.m.

Authorities report that the now-deceased victim was traveling west on the highway in a 2017 Dodge Charger along with three other individuals when the accident occurred. The deceased was the only one involved in the crash who was not wearing a seat belt at the time of the crash.

The Charger was traveling a short distance behind a 2005 Peterbilt semi-truck when the truck slowed to enter a parking lot. The driver of the Charger failed to control the vehicle’s speed, resulting in a collision with the back of the truck.

Investigators told reporters that the semi-truck driver, Charger driver, and two other passengers were transported to a nearby hospital following the incident.

In 2020, Texans did an admirable job at using their safety belts, but the issue is still incredibly important.

First, the vast majority of Texans involved in car accidents in 2020 were wearing their safety belts at the time of the crash. In fact, according to the Texas Department of Transportation, less than 2% of those involved in Texas 2020 accidents were unrestrained during their crash.

Next, car accidents were much more likely to result in a fatality if one of the passengers was unrestrained. Over 5% of those who were not wearing their seatbelt at the time of their crash died in that crash. Meanwhile, just one-tenth of one percent of those who wore their restraints died as a result of their crash. This means that unrestrained people were more than 45 times more likely to die in a crash in Texas in 2020 compared to those who wore their belts.

One piece of the puzzle that sometimes gets overlooked when it comes to restraint usage is infant restraints. Despite the fact that restraint use is arguably more important amongst infants, children make up more than their fair share of unrestrained car accident victims. While children ages six and younger made up less than 5% of all car accident victims in 2020, they made up 7% of unrestrained victims.

With all of this in mind, be sure to buckle up the next time you’re on the road in Texas, and tell your loved ones about the importance of seat belts, too.

1 Dead Following Crash Was the Only Unrestrained Passenger

Lapeze & Johns