Icy roads lead to fatal accident in near Floyd

Monty · Dec 5, 2011

Fifty-seven-year-old Debra Sue Long of Oil City, Pennsylvania, was declared dead at the scene after the patrol says her 2008 Ford van which was traveling northbound, just south of the railroad bridge when Long lost control on an icy spot in the roadway, crossed the median and rolled several times, throwing Long out of the driver side of the vehicle.

Icy roads lead to fatal accident in near Floyd

Seat belts do save lives ... use them.

cheri1122 · Dec 5, 2011

Oh no - how awful to hear of such a senseless death.
I'm pretty sure the driver was with Whirlwind, as Skyraider sent a pm yesterday asking if I knew anything about a fatal accident. I didn't, and wish I didn't still.

BigCat · Dec 5, 2011

This is the one shellyb just posted earlier. Who is to say the seat belt didn't fail?

vanman10 · Dec 5, 2011

Sending prayers to the family.

mjmsprt40 · Dec 5, 2011

I'm not sure a seatbelt would have helped in this case or not. The van rolled several times--- that's a titanic amount of energy being unleashed, and I could bet on the roof being crushed in too. The belt would have kept her in the vehicle though, and that might have made a difference.

beachbum · Dec 6, 2011

I would say that in most rollover accidents you will survive with a seat belt on, those are the facts. The odds on a seatbelt failure is very slim, unless there was a MFG flaw.

We might find out later after the investigation what happened. But by that time it will be old news.

blizzard2014 · Dec 6, 2011

beachbum said:
I would say that in most rollover accidents you will survive with a seat belt on, those are the facts. The odds on a seatbelt failure is very slim, unless there was a MFG flaw.

We might find out later after the investigation what happened. But by that time it will be old news.

The seatbelt is one component to look at, but the freight in the back of the truck is another. If there were any loose skids not tied down in the back, it could have been even worse with the seatbelt on. But, you're probablu right, the seatbelt helped. I have been in the ditch three times and it is scary! I feel really bad for her. Please stay safe out there.

BigCat · Dec 6, 2011

I had a friend in school that rolled his truck 6 times after falling a sleep coming home from work. Wearing his seatbelt he was ejected after the force of his weight tore up the latch mechanism. They said he wasn't wearing his seatbelt but autopsy they found marks under his neck and across his chest proving he was in fact wearing his seatbelt.

Seat belts aren't flawless. The do at times fail.

Doggie Daddy · Dec 6, 2011

Notanewbie, in the original thread and in this thread started by you, you have insinuated that this person was not wearing a seatbelt.

Nothing that I can find in the news stories have made this claim, do you know in fact that she was not wearing one?

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cheri1122 · Dec 6, 2011

Because people wearing a seatbelt don't get ejected through the window, is my guess.

BigCat · Dec 6, 2011

cheri1122 said:
Because people wearing a seatbelt don't get ejected through the window, is my guess.

Post #8 explains about my friend being ejected who was wearing one. I guess if the force of flipping several times breaks the latch it is possible.

Monty · Dec 6, 2011

I have no clue if the woman was wearing a seatbelt, or not. I do know that in most cases where a person is ejected, they seldom are. All I wished to do is remind people to wear them.

Unsecured freight might be another cause, I was not there, I have not seen the accident report, I have no clue. And an accident of this magnitude is why I secure all freight and also have a solid bulkhead in my van.

But I do believe the advise to wear the seatbelt is both timely and prudent.

The advise to simply not travel, when it is advised not to, is also something to be aware of.

I make no judgement on the cause, affect or results of this crash, except a woman is dead. And maybe it did not have to happen that way.

cheri1122 · Dec 6, 2011

BigCat said:
Post #8 explains about my friend being ejected who was wearing one. I guess if the force of flipping several times breaks the latch it is possible.

Of course it's possible, but the odds are about a million to one against it, so the assumption that someone who was ejected was not belted in is pretty much universal, and included in everything from the EMT's report which is passed along the chain to hospital and/or medical examiner personnel. As a nurse on the Trauma Unit, I heard the words "unrestrained victim of a motor vehicle accident" way too many times.
It's a sad wake up call for the rest of us: the dangers of our work can be fatal. As NAN mentioned, shifting freight is another danger that shouldn't be overlooked, as is the belief that the load MUST be delivered on time, road conditions be ****ed.
RIP, Ms Long.

RIP, Ms Long.

BigCat · Dec 6, 2011

Notanewbie said:
I have no clue if the woman was wearing a seatbelt, or not. I do know that in most cases where a person is ejected, they seldom are. All I wished to do is remind people to wear them.

Unsecured freight might be another cause, I was not there, I have not seen the accident report, I have no clue. And an accident of this magnitude is why I secure all freight and also have a solid bulkhead in my van.

But I do believe the advise to wear the seatbelt is both timely and prudent.

The advise to simply not travel, when it is advised not to, is also something to be aware of.

I make no judgement on the cause, affect or results of this crash, except a woman is dead. And maybe it did not have to happen that way.

True. I wasn't questioning Anyones motive for the responses. Just saying there are 1,000,000 ways this could have happened and in the same breath been avoided.

Seat belts MAY or MAY NOT have been used but its a little early to make that assumption until LEO make their judgement.

usafk9 · Dec 6, 2011

I think your 'million-to-one' is way too high, Cheri. Lots of things happen to bodies when the vehicle they are travelling in meets an immovible object.

Think about this for a second: I have personally picked up two completely-tied shoes from two separate accident scenes, that were previously on their owner's feet.

I also investigated a fatality where the driver committed vehicular suicide with his seatbelt buckled. Seatbelt did it's job, but the driver succeeded in his mission.

While the numbers of unrestrained could have prevented injuries, seatbelts are not perfect. Notanewbie's advice is worth heeding though.