Around 12:40 a.m. Sunday, Minnesota State Patrol says the woman was driving a Chevrolet Malibu westbound on Highway 210 around milepost 40 in Tordenskjold Township when the car collided with a Ford F650 Straight Truck traveling eastbound. The roads were in snowy/icy condition.
The driver of the car was wearing a seatbelt when the crash occurred. She died at the scene of the crash, according to the crash report. State Patrol identified the victim on Saturday evening as Grace Katherine Olson, age 19 of Barnesville. 19-year-old Barnesville woman killed in Otter Tail Co. crash
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 could potentially 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.
