According to state police, the driver of a tractor-trailer going south on I-81 hit the rear of a Hyundai Sonata, causing the car to spin out and overturn. The tractor trailer then struck a Chevrolet Impala, and the impact pushed the vehicle into the back of a second tractor trailer.
The second tractor trailer pulled onto the right shoulder as the first tractor trailer hit the Hyundai a second time, causing it to collide with the second tractor trailer.
The impact of the crash caused the Chevrolet and Hyundai to catch fire. The driver of the Hyundai, 60-year-old Gary L. King of Christiansburg, died at the scene. The Chevrolet’s driver, 61-year-old Janet W. Ridenhour of Roanoke, also died at the scene. Charges pending in Roanoke County crash that killed two
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.)
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 I think that underride should be investigated as a potential factor in truck crash injuries and deaths.
