A dreaded phone call told the family of a crash between a pickup truck and a cement truck, leaving one driver dead and the other in critical condition.
Family members at the scene said the 29-year-old victim died after being head-on. He was the father of two little girls. Father of two killed in crash involving cement truck on Norman highway
Christopher was in a accident on highway 9 and 132nd around 5:30 AM. He was heading westbound going to work when a Dolese concrete truck hit him head on. The Dolese driver is alive and well at this time. Christopher did not make it. Funeral services for Christopher Thomas Free
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.
