Two people were seriously injured in a multi vehicle car accident in Evans in Columbia County on Monday.
According to the Augusta Chronicle, the accident was set off when Evans-resident Gregory Teasley, who was eastbound on Washington Road, crossed the center line and struck the side of a GMC truck. Teasley’s car was pushed into the oncoming lane where it struck a Jeep Cherokee head on. Both Teasley, and the driver of the Jeep Cherokee, a 74-year-od woman, suffered serious injuries, and had to be airlifted.
According to witnesses who had been behind Teasley’s car, he had been weaving in and out of the traffic for several miles before the crash took place. Columbia Country Sheriff officials say they will be filing charges against him Teasley. There’s no information on whether alcohol or drugs were involved here
Earlier this year, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration released its annual report on accident fatalities for 2008. The report showed a dramatic drop in the numbers of people killed in accidents across the country last year. There was a decline in fatalities across all types of accidents – alcohol-related car accidents, bicycle crashes, pedestrian fatalities and speeding-related car accidents.
In Georgia, the drop in the number of accident-related fatalities was high with numbers dropping to 1493 from 1641 in 2007. Those are impressive statistics by any account, and law enforcement agencies and transportation officials deserve kudos for this accomplishment. Accident rates have been showing a steady decline over the past few years, and we can expect numbers to dip further as states move to take action on a number of factors responsible for serious accidents. As we write this, the Obama administration is considering convening a summit that will discuss the possibility of banning text messaging behind the wheel in all states. If the NHTSA numbers are still not as few as Gwinnett County car accident lawyers like us would like, it’s because we still take far too long to enforce bans on unhealthy practices like cell phone use behind the wheel, that contribute to so many crashes. Some more proactive measures to stop drivers from being distracted behind the wheel, and a little less procrastination would bring those numbers down further.