Haunting images of a violent crash

In the video report an Ohio TV station aired, you can see a mangled, black pick-up truck stopped sideways on a highway. A few feet ahead sits a crushed red car with its front end, hood, roof and doors bent and torn. A pair of workboots sit empty amidst pieces of shattered plastic, glass and metal strewn along the road It’s clear that something violent has happened there.

Three somber firefighters stand nearby. They know that only some minutes have passed since the pick-up slammed head-on into the car. They know, too, that the driver of the car was just 20 years old when his life ended in the crash.

The Ohio State Patrol says the crash about an hour southwest of Akron involved a black Ford F-150 pick-up and a red Chevrolet Cavalier. The 27-year-old at the wheel of the truck over-corrected after his vehicle veered off of the right side of the road. The truck then swung across the center of Ohio 545, directly into the path of the car driven by a 20-year-old New London man.

The 20-year-old was bleeding heavily from severe, lower-extremities wounds as firefighters worked to extricate him from the wreckage. He died later at a Mansfield hospital five miles away.

The driver of the pick-up was hurt, too, but his injuries were not life-threatening, according to the station’s report.

Law enforcement officials are investigating the cause of the crash. We don’t know why the truck went off the road in the first place, but we do know that similarly destructive collisions have been caused by a driver checking a cellphone or texting, going too fast or being too impaired to operate a vehicle safely.

For a family losing a loved one, or for an accident injury victim, the search for answers and justice can be difficult. A Summit County personal injury attorney experienced in these emotionally trying matters can help you weigh your legal options and effectively pursue compensation from the person responsible.