Teens and other young people are statistically more likely to be killed in car crashes than older drivers. We were saddened to read about how two Georgia Southern students were killed in a recent wreck near Macon.
The deadly car wreck south of Macon killed two Georgia Southern students who were also brothers in late November 2017 reported WTOC.com.
The victims were identified as Jack Deacon Harris, 20, and Garrett Harris, 18. They were returning to Statesboro from their Thanksgiving break early on a Sunday morning.
Georgia State Patrol said the brothers were driving on I-16 in Laurens County when they were hit by a car going westbound in the eastbound lane.
Two Georgia Southern Students Are Killed
This was a tragic crash. The brothers’ car was engulfed in flames. A coroner later pronounced them dead at the accident scene.
Sadly, far too many accidents are caused by wrong-way drivers on the highways of Georgia and elsewhere. Fatal accidents typically spike over holiday periods such as Thanksgiving.
A dozen people died on the roads of Georgia during the Thanksgiving holiday travel period from 6 p.m. Wednesday until midnight Sunday.
Georgia Southern University issued a statement offering sympathies to the family and friends of the brothers. University administrators said counselors would be on the scene for those who needed it due to this tragedy.
Georgia State Patrol said the other driver in this crash was also hospitalized and the accident could be under investigation for some time.
Investigators said they took blood samples from 27-year-old Jared Adler to check for drugs, according to a crash report. The results had not been released. Accident reports suggest he may have traveled as far as five miles the wrong way.
Wrong way crashes are more likely to be deadly than other types of accident such as rear-enders or T-bone accidents.
A report in 2012 by the National Transportation Safety Board looked at the causes of these serious wrecks.
The report found many wrong way drivers have consumed alcohol or drugs. In some cases, older drivers may end up on the wrong side of the road.
The report also looked at how the problem could be addressed through traffic control devices and highway design as well as monitoring and intervention programs for wrong-way collisions.
Although wrong-way collisions occur relatively infrequently and account for a mere 3 percent of accidents on high-speed divided highways, they are disproportionately likely to result in fatal and serious injuries than are other types of wrecks on the highway.
A study in Virginia found the death rate for wrong-way collisions on highways with a controlled access was about 27 times that of other types of accidents.
Although illicit drugs and alcohol cause many wrong-way crashes, what the report termed as ‘adverse drug events’ that lead to these crashes are more common among older people, reflecting their increased use of prescription medications.
Accidents like the one that claimed the lives of the two brothers are of concern at a time of rising fatal accidents nationwide.
If you have lost a loved one in a car wreck, please call our Newnan personal injury lawyers at (404) 913-1529.