KSL.com reported that a young woman of Brigham City died from her injuries. The 16-year-old was thrown from a pick-up truck on I-15 near the junction of I-84 in June. According to the Utah Highway Patrol, the pick-up truck drifted and the driver over corrected causing the vehicle to leave the road and roll down an embankment onto I-84.
Another passenger of the pick-up truck, also 16-years of age, was ejected from the vehicle onto the inside lane of I-84 and was killed instantly.
UHP Lt. Steve Winward said that the 18-year-old driver of the truck was transported to the Intermountain Medical Hospital. According to the report, he is in a stable condition and is expected to recover.
Centers of Disease Control and Prevention emphasized the importance of wearing seat belts in the following cited statistics:
- Most drivers and passengers killed in crashes are unrestrained. 53% of drivers and passengers killed in car crashes in 2009 were not wearing restraints.
- Seat belts dramatically reduce the risk of death and serious injury. Among drivers and front-seat passengers, seat belts reduce the risk of death by 45%, and cut the risk of serious injury by 50%.
- Seat belts prevent drivers and passengers from being ejected during a crash. People not wearing a seat belt are 30 times more likely to be ejected from a vehicle during a crash. More than three out of four people who are ejected during a crash die from their injuries.
- Seat belts save thousands of lives each year, and increasing use would save thousands more. Seat belts saved almost 13,000 lives in 2009. If all drivers and passengers had worn seat belts that year, almost 4,000 more people would be alive today.
Original article by Benjamin Wood.
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