The crash happened just before 9:30 p.m. at the intersection of Route 32 and Interstate 70. Police said the driver of the tractor-trailer was turning left from northbound Route 32 onto I-70 when a 2012 Land Rover Range Rover Evoque heading south on Route 32 hit the truck and continued underneath it.
The driver of the SUV, Laith Basil Aboarob of Clarksville, died at the scene, police said. 17-Year-Old Laith Aboarob Killed In Crash With Tractor-Trailer In Howard County, Police Say
Because the bottom of a truck is higher than the bumper of passenger vehicles, when there is a collision the smaller vehicle easily slides under the truck and the first point of impact is the windshield. Seatbelts, airbags, and car crumple zones do not function as intended in underride crashes — leaving passenger vehicle occupants vulnerable to life-threatening injuries.
See underride tragedies at Underride Crash Memorials and #STOPunderrides. To add photos or more information on this story or to add other underride crashes to be remembered, send an email to underridemap@gmail.com. Please use this Interactive Underride Crash Map Crash Location Input Form to provide us with accurate information . (Note: the map is currently not online; but we would keep the information for future updating and to aid in underride advocacy efforts.)
Support improving Underride Protection on trailers: Contact your legislators with this User-Friendly TAKE ACTION online tool.
Please sign this petition: Congress, Act Now To End Deadly Truck Underrides
Note: In order to raise awareness and preserve the memories of underride victims — precious ones gone too soon — I have been writing memorial posts on what appear to me to be underride crashes. I am not a crash reconstructionist, and I do not have all the facts on these crashes; but underride should be investigated as a potential factor in truck crash injuries and deaths.
