Two people died last week after their vehicle struck a tractor-trailer as it backed into a private driveway in Jackson County, authorities said.
The crash happened on Arkansas 367 at Jackson County 307 just before 7:45 p.m. on Nov. 20, according to an Arkansas State Police preliminary crash report. A Land Rover headed south hit the driver’s side of a tractor-trailer while it backed into a private driveway to park, the report states.
Troopers said the Land Rover’s driver, 20-year-old Ashley Steele of Bradford, and a passenger, 28-year-old Leslie Lewis of Newport, died as a result of the wreck. Troopers: 2 die in Jackson County after vehicle strikes tractor-trailer
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 — front, side, and rear — leaving passenger vehicle occupants vulnerable to life-threatening injuries.
See Underride Crash Memorials posted here and at #STOPunderrides Tweets. 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.)
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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.
