New York — One person was killed while several others were injured in a five car accident on the Tappan Zee Bridge this past Wednesday. According to state police, the motor vehicle crash occurred as a result of one of the men who was driving the wrong way on the bridge. They say that the wrong-way driver was travelling south in his SUV on the northbound roadway when he crashed into a car. The other car then rolled over and killed one of the passengers and seriously injuring the driver victim. Three other vehicles were subsequently involved in the pile up during the accident, causing multiple injuries. Reports show that at least one of the accident victims suffered a spinal injury while a trauma specialist notes that further evaluation will be necessary to determine any other injuries to the other people. It has been pointed out that some injuries from a motor vehicle accident do not become fully apparent until days or even weeks after the trauma. Accident investigators were continuing their search for the entire cause of the car crash, including why the man would have driven the wrong way on the highway. Highway safety activists have wondered if proper signs and preventative devices were in place to avert such a dangerous condition. They note that other high-profile car accidents have occurred on New York roads due to drivers going the wrong direction on the highway over the past few years. Some have blamed these accidents on a combination of dangerous drivers that should not have been allowed to drive and confusing on and off ramps. They warn that there is often a lack of signs or other barriers to prevent drivers from entering the highway in the wrong direction. Safety advocates have been challenging the federal, state and local authorities to deal with the hazardous condition, noting that it is their responsibility to do everything possible to prevent accidents and injuries. They exclaim that highway accidents are often more serious, causing more injury and death that other crashes due to the high speeds involved. Investigators say that motorists are more likely to be speeding on an highway and this very often contributes to accidents. Read up more in this article about the recent deadly wrong-way car crash.

Photo by Mohsan Dabiri-e Vaziri (Own work) [CC-BY-2.5], via Wikimedia Commons