Troopers said their investigation of the scene found a tanker truck had been pulling into the center turn lane to merge onto Highway 42. As the tanker truck did this, a car operated by a 19-year-old abruptly stopped in the left lane as the tanker truck merged into the center turn lane, OSP said. A log truck traveling behind the car braked, but was unable to stop in time and smashed into the car from behind, troopers said.
OSP said the car sustained heavy damage to its rear end. Troopers said two passengers in the car, Tabitha M. Romans, 31, of Cottage Grove and Brandon Gobershock, 20, of Winston, were declared dead at the scene. The driver of the car was taken to a nearby hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, and the driver of the log truck was uninjured, OSP said. Truck crash kills two, injures one on Highway 42 in Green
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.
Tabitha Romans & Brandon Gabershock, Precious Ones Gone Too Soon
Major truck manufacturers have Front Underride Protection designs which can work on American trucks.
AMERICA’S DANGEROUS TRUCKS (PBS/Frontline Underride Documentary)
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: Secretary Pete, It’s Past Time To End Death By Underride!
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.
