Prius involved in head on collison

Oh my goodness. That is just bad. It looks like the Prius was really moving. I am very surprised the other driver was ok.

 

looks like the Prius went under the van from the damage to the door window frame.

I wondered if he was exercising his right to not wear a seatbelt but I doubt that would have made my difference in this instance.

My thoughts are with his family and friends.

 

"somehow" he crossed the yellow line?? at 90... gee i wonder... the story on his life is awesome and its easy to see why the governor honored his passing.

but maybe another point to make on more stringent testing of older drivers is in order here.

 

I don't think so. If you're referring to the cuts to the roof pillars, they were done by the rescue crews to cut the roof from the car.

 

Photos don't show roof damage, but from the drive door frame damage, which usually follows roof, it seems there was heavy intrusion of the cabin from the roof. Most likely due to the car ending up under the van or related. That is most likely the cause of death, as there is no major intrusion into the seat part of the cavity. Without that roof intrusion, and with a proper seatbelt, this accident looks survivable.

 

Or he might have died before he crossed the centre line.

 

What is survivable for the average 20 or 40 year old is much different than what is survivable for the average 90 year old driver, even after selecting only those who are still driving at that age.

 

Looking at the pictures, it looks like any cabin intrusion had to be up top, because the position of the dash doesn't look like it was pushed back into the cabin area.

 

I still don't believe the car ran up under the van. I've seen many wrecks over the years, and I've never seen a vehicle run up under another unless there was significant clearance beneath a part of the other vehicle -- i.e., a truck. I'm not saying it couldn't happen; I'm sure it could under the right circumstances. But the impact area here is the left front of the car from top to bottom, suggesting a direct angular frontal impact.

The roof could have had some impingement into the passenger compartment, but my bet it was limited and likely due to distortion from secondary forces transferred from the front. Look at the remnants of the roof pillars, especially the "B" pillars. They still point straight up with no gross deformity other than where they were cut by the rescue crews.

This is a serious impact with significant instantaneous energy transfer. The air bag and seat belts soften the blow to the occupant somewhat, but there are still deceleration forces ripping at vital structures within the body. As Fuzzy suggests, a 90 year old brain, aorta, or liver will damage more easily from such forces and will be less likely to respond to treatment than those in a body a fourth or half that age.

EDIT: OK, like many of you apparently, I did not originally chase the link to the fire company's web page. On that page there is a picture of the roof lying on the ground top down, quite intact other than where the pillars were cut by rescue tools. I am now quite confident the car did not run up under the van and, again, it was a direct angular frontal impact.

And as BAllanJ says, the collision could have been the effect of his death, not the cause.

 

I don't see an indication of the van ending up on top either. At age 90 the sudden stop would likely be enough to result in any one of several types of fatal damage to the driver. The dash and steering column are buckled in and damaged badly enough that blunt force trauma to the torso could easily be fatal to him (brain, aorta, liver, even rib punctures of the lungs.) The footwell probably crumpled enough that the lower legs/feet/ankles would be a mess and/or the major thigh bones may have been shattered. That could be fatal as well.

This is the most dangerous kind of head on for the driver--an off center impact that is absorbed primarily on the driver's corner.

 

At that age it's also possible that the driver died, and *then* went across the center line.

Tom

 

This accident is a perfect example of why millions of American women are driving big SUVs to the super market these days. They feel safer. And they are usually safer in a collision with a smaller vehicle, as this accident illustrates. The driver of the van walked away.

 

On the other hand, they are much more likely to be involved in a fatal single car rollover accident. You pays your money and you takes your chances.

Tom

 

how about a prayer or moment of silence for this man and his family and friends(in reading the article he is clearly a true american hero)

 

wow, that's terrible. such a tragic way to go.

i narrowly avoided a head-on with a lane drifter just the other day. ran my car into the ditch or it might have wound up looking like that too.

 

Were they talking or texting on the cell phone? I hate that.

Tom

 

My thoughts and prayers go out to his family and friends!

I can't tell about the area below the steering wheel, but to me it seems that the driver's compartment is fairly intact, given the extent of this crash and the condition of the rest of the car. Am I wrong?

 

Yep, that and the frequency of SUV/truck passengers/drivers not wearing seat belts is also rather high. I've lost count of the number of what should have been minor accidents in SUV's that resulted in multiple fatalities for this reason.