Deadly Crash Claims Four Lives in Fresno County
According to ABC30 News, a tragic car accident near Clovis claimed four lives earlier this month. The car crash occurred near Shields Avenue and Academy Avenue near Clovis around 2:00 a.m. The driver of an SUV drifted into the other lane and before crashing into a vehicle traveling in the opposite direction.
The driver of the SUV, her sister, and two children died from injuries sustained in the crash. The third child and the driver of the other vehicle were transported to the hospital with serious injuries. Authorities report that no one in the SUV was wearing a seat belt or secured in a safety seat at the time of the crash.
California Seat Belt Laws
The California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) states that the use of safety belts reduces the risk of being thrown from a vehicle in a crash. Your chance of surviving a traffic accident is three to four times higher when you buckle up. The state has a mandatory seat belt law for all passengers in a vehicle. Everyone eight years of age and older, including children who are at least four feet nine inches tall, must be restrained by a seat belt when riding in a motor vehicle.
Furthermore, children must be restrained in a federally-approved child safety seat pursuant to the guidelines for their age, height, and weight. In California, the child safety seat requirements are:
- Rear-facing child restraint system for children two years of age unless the child is over three feet four inches tall or weighs 40 pounds or more
- Children under eight years of age must be placed in a child safety seat appropriate for their age, weight, and height
- Children under eight years of age may only ride in the front seat if one or more of the following circumstances apply: there is no rear seat; the car has side-facing jump seats for rear seats; rear-facing rear seats, the child safety seat cannot be properly installed in the rear seat; all rear seats are occupied by children who are seven years of age or younger; or the child has a medical condition that prevents the child from riding in the back seat.
- Children are not permitted to ride in the front seat in a rear-facing child sear when there is a front seat air bag installed.
Car Air Bags and Children
Air bags have also been shown to reduce the risk of serious injury and death in some car crashes. However, air bags can injure small children. Therefore, drivers and parents must use caution when deciding where to place a child in a vehicle equipped with air bags. Healthy Child and Baby Center have information about air bags and children on their websites. Parents should read all information about air bags in the vehicle’s owner’s manual to understand the placement of the air bags, when the air bags will deploy, and how the air bags deploy.
Fresno And Central California Valley Accident Attorneys
Accidents are tragic regardless of the severity of the injuries. Our Fresno accident lawyers help individuals and families seek compensation from negligent and careless drivers who cause traffic accidents.
Contact Torem & Associates by telephone at (888) 500-5000 or online by using the contact form on our website to schedule a free consultation with a California car accident attorney near you.
Source: “Friends mourn loss after crash near Clovis leaves four dead, including two children,” ABC30 News, July 10, 2017
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