Earlier this week, one man died, and more than a dozen others were hurt in a four-vehicle crash that took place on Highway 30 in Clatsop County, about 12 miles east of Astoria. This accident, which included a wrong-way driver, multiple vehicles, and numerous injuries, is a powerful reminder of the complexities that can be involved in an auto accident. To get what you should from insurance claims and civil legal action after a multi-vehicle crash, you need an experienced advocate and should act quickly to retain a skilled Oregon auto accident lawyer.

The preliminary investigation indicated that the westbound driver, a 65-year-old man driving a Ford pickup truck, entered the eastbound lane and “sideswiped” an eastbound Ram truck. The Ford continued traveling the wrong way in the eastbound lane and then hit an eastbound van carrying a group of National Guard members who had just completed training. Another eastbound driver could not stop in time and hit the wrong-way truck and the guard members’ van.

The wrong-way driver, who officials believe was not wearing a seatbelt, died at the scene. The National Guard member driving the van suffered serious injuries. More than a dozen other passengers and drivers suffered minor injuries.

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According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, roughly 1/3 of all motor vehicle accidents in the United States are single-vehicle crashes. Of those, more than 2/3 (roughly 70%) involve vehicles running off the road. Even if no other vehicle is involved, these accidents can be very serious or even catastrophic. While single-vehicle crashes account for only 33% of all crashes, they account for 53% of all traffic fatalities, according to the National Safety Council. If you are a passenger who was hurt in a single-vehicle crash, you have rights. To protect yourself and your ability to get a proper recovery, start by talking to an experienced Oregon auto accident lawyer about your situation.

One such accident occurred earlier this month in eastern Oregon. According to the Oregon State Police’s investigation, a Honda CRV was traveling eastbound on Interstate 84 “when it left the freeway for an unknown reason,” Apple Valley News Now reported. The CRV subsequently entered the median, went airborne, and caught fire upon landing.

The driver suffered serious injuries. A passenger in the CRV died at the scene.

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Drivers navigate potential dangers every day, often without realizing it. For example, statistics show that more than 12,000 fatal crashes occur at intersections. More than 1 in 5 (22%) involve a driver turning left. According to Nationwide Mutual Insurance, left-turn accidents represent the #2 “most frequent high-severity type of auto claim,” behind only rear-end collisions. While drivers making left turns are often at fault in their crashes, that is not a universal truth. Determining who was at fault in any collision, including a left-turn crash, involves careful investigation and analysis by a seasoned professional, which is why securing the services of an experienced Oregon motor vehicle accident lawyer is so important.

A fatal crash in Klamath County is just one of the latest examples of how dangerous intersections can be. In the Klamath County incident, L.K., a 71-year-old woman behind the wheel of a Chrysler PT Cruiser, was executing a left turn from eastbound Highway 140 to northbound Highway 39. According to the Oregon State Police’s preliminary investigation, the woman stopped at the intersection’s stop sign but then pulled out onto Highway 39 without yielding the right of way to oncoming traffic. A southbound Kia Sedona van crashed into the Chrysler. The van’s occupants suffered minor injuries, but L.K. died at the scene.

In most situations, left-hand turn crashes are the fault of the driver making the left turn. That is true because the law requires drivers making left turns to yield the right of way to oncoming traffic.

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