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Wrong-way Interstate and Highway Collisions in Iowa

Wrong-way drivers are causing deaths in America’s interstate highway system all across the United States. Wrong-way collisions can have several causes and there are things we can do to educate ourselves from being involved in one. With two vehicles traveling towards one another at 70 mph death is almost certain. So what can you do to avoid being in one?

For several months I’ve collected news items on wrong-way collisions and have analyzed where, when and how they occurred. There have been so many that I can only cover the month of July for 2009 and that is enough to provide us with 70 separate wrong-way collisions from hundreds of news stories. From these news reported collisions that here are the general causes and how we can avoid being one of those who die from a wrong-way driver coming towards us at 50 to 70 mph.

I became interested in this subject back in November 2008 when I wrote, Interstate Highway Safety: Part I - Ghost drivers continue to be a problem on U.S. Interstate Highways and followed up with Interstate Highway Safety - Ghost Drivers – Part II. Since then other InjuryBoard members have written and the discussion has become varied and lively. So do a search on the InjuryBoard and see what the lawyer in your state has said about wrong-way drivers or “ghost riders”.

8/1/2009
Steve Lombardi
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Wrong-way Drivers Collide in Minnesota

Twin Cities, Minnesota – July 2009 – 49, y.o. female, OWI – BAC .33 legal is .08. Wrong-way driver on McAndrews Road in Burnside, MN. Slight injuries to both drivers, the story is covered by Pioneer Press.

Baldwinsville, NY – July 2009 – Route 481 – three deaths. A 60 yo male driver driving south in the northbound lanes. Victims were the other driver, age 27 and the at-fault driver’s passenger, 82-year old female.

“State Police released more details Monday on Friday night's crash. Troopers say witnesses reported seeing 60-year-old Gary Foster of Syracuse enter the highway's northbound lanes in Fulton and drive several miles south before colliding with another car driven by Reed. Foster and 82-year-old Jacqueline Grove, a passenger in his car, both died in the accident.”

Scottsdale, Arizona – July 2009 – 36-year-old woman left driveway the wrong-way on Indian School Road resulting in a head-on collision injuring all four people. Charged with DUI/OWI. Drunk Driver Causes Wrong-Way Crash. 11:10 A.M.

Asheville, South Carolina – July 2009 – Good luck figuring this one out. Asheville Police have charged a man after initially charging another man with the same crime.

“Police have charged 37-year old Jimmy Eugene Jordan, of Asheville, and charged him with reckless driving to endanger, speeding, fleeing to elude arrest, driving while license revoked and assault with a deadly weapon on a government official. According to a spokesperson for the Asheville Police Department, due to information given to them by 36-year old Nicole Leah Thompson-Dockery, of Candler, they had charged 43-year old Craig Ross Griffin, of Leicester, with driving the wrong way down a one-way street on July 16 and nearly striking an officer conducting traffic enforcement.

The spokesperson says that Thompson-Dockery, who wanted for Parole and Probations violations in Mecklenburg County, was a passenger in the vehicle at the time of the incident. Officials say she intentionally misled officers and gave them Griffin’s name in order to get him in trouble with police and subsequently Jordan was identified as the driver of the vehicle.

Police are currently seeking Jordan. If anyone has any information as to his whereabouts they are asked to call Asheville Police at (828) 252-1110 or Crime Stoppers at (828) 255-5050.”

Delta, Canada – July 2009 - Highway 99 in Delta, 5:30 PM rush hour, Tuesday, five vehicles, one fatality, traveling southbound in the northbound lanes; a three car collision was caused when a driver attempted to avoid colliding with the wrong-way vehicle. The wrong-way driver was an 81-year-old female who was killed.

Welcome to the Lombardi Law Firm website. Knowing your rights and how to protect yourself is important. Always be alert to risks that can cause you injury or get you killed. Steve Lombardi provides commentary and insight on this blog, The Verdict and also writes for the Des Moines market of the InjuryBoard.com and on occasion on the Des Moines Register web site. Steve Lombardi has more than 30 years in civil litigation including death and injury cases for workers and their spouses for all types of accidents and injuries. Attorney Steve Lombardi is a personal injury lawyer. Join us in making the world a safer place. (515-222-1110 or sdlombardi@aol.com )