. . . a 2013 Freightliner tow truck was traveling southbound on Crain Highway near westbound Maryland Route 32 when it rear-ended a 2010 Honda sedan. The tow truck then overrode the Honda, causing both vehicles to leave the right side of the roadway and hit trees. . .
The driver of the Honda, identified as 54-year-old Irene Nkechi Onwukwe, and 85-year-old Josephine Monyei, the rear passenger, were pronounced dead at the scene. They were both from Glenn Dale, Maryland.
The third person in the Honda, the front seat passenger, was taken to a trauma center in Baltimore by Maryland State Police Trooper with serious injuries. Rear-end crash in Anne Arundel leaves 2 Prince George’s County residents dead
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.
Irene Onwukwe & Josephine Monyei, Precious Ones Gone Too Soon
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.
We are asking that people send us crash reports for collisions with trucks which they suspect involved underride. Send them to marianne@annaleahmary.com. We will submit these as complaints to USDOT. Read more here: Launching a Campaign To Flood NHTSA With Underride Complaint Reports.
