Infant, Toddler Among Four Dead in 80 Crash

Devastating story... a good reminder to slow down and drive defensively!

Your life can change....or end.... in a heartbeat.

The usual question in situations like this....we're the decesed wearing seat belts?
My condolences to the family and friends of the four killed.

The usual question in situations like this....we're the decesed wearing seat belts and approved child restraint seats?
My condolences to the family and friends of the four killed.

emailskip wrote:

The usual question in situations like this....we're the decesed wearing seat belts and approved child restraint seats?
My condolences to the family and friends of the four killed.

Did you see the car? I don't think it matters. They had a picture of the infant seat up earlier.

emailskip wrote:

The usual question in situations like this....we're the decesed wearing seat belts and approved child restraint seats?
My condolences to the family and friends of the four killed.

Seat belts and child seats need to be worn at all times but I drove by the accident after it happened - I don't think anyone could have survived this even if they took all of the safety precautions - it was bad. We thought it was a pick up truck - we did not even think it could have been a Nissan SUV - it was flat like a pancake.

My prayers for the families. I'm sure the driver of the box truck must be absolutely stunned by this event.

oh bobbuckboardmann. this type of response is exacting what the editor was talking about. You are just looking for an arguement so you can argue back and forth with a bunch of nothing nonsense.

Wow Bob, you've got some work to do...

I saw that truck. And im in the car wrecking business, I saw the truck with the roof missing unless that was cut off by fireman, no way someone would survive that kind of wreck....also they must have been going very fast, or that nissan had some gravitational unbalancing done to it.

i feel so sorry for thi swoorld its all just gone crazy

This is just another example of people either not understanding how to tow. Who trains a person to tow? Do you take a class? Anybody can do it without any knowledge. I've been keeping track of this for over 4 years. Go to www.dangeroustrailers.com for more.
With regards to the baby crib recall, we now have a massive problem with another breakdown.
This situation took 2 years to follow through and I believe less than 5 children died as a result.
The delay is a direct result of the lobby interests that erode our government agencies oversight.
I guess that Mattel must have designed the crib and what will happen the company will travel to
china and apologize.
The same situation exists with the National Highway Safety Transportation Administration. In this case I have been able to determine that over 400 people a year are killed due to utility trailers
that come unhitched and are in disrepair I.E. non working taillights. They are so powerful that in
Virginia the law states that all trailers over 3,000 pounds need to be inspected every year. So what do they do? They make them just under 3,000 pounds so they range between 2,990 and 2,998. They are also so powerful that they pay DELEGATE POLLARD $3,200 in campaign money and DELEGATE WHITMAN $5,000 over the past two years to destroy my law and prevent further requirements to these trailers.
What ever happend to doing good, why do we have to wait so long for something to be done?
They are even so powerful they can supress an accident that happend on the BAY BRIDGE on
May 10, 2007 that killed 3 people and injured 7 that tied up traffic for 8 hours. Two of the victims were a Father and Son who were volunteer fireman.
Why else would our government ignore a quote from the VCU Crash Team that was published over 1 and 1/2 years ago? Go here to view the report: http://www.vcu.edu/cppweb/tstc/pdfs/TA14.pdf
Here is the quote:
"In Summary, this crash was caused when a homemade trailer detached from the pick up
that towed it. It struck a Cadillac traveling in the opposing lanes of traffic, fatally
injuring the driver. Trailers are a special class of vehicle and all are subject to some
requirements regarding lights and chains. While the Code exempts some smaller trailers,
those designed to carry over 3000 pounds are required to have brakes and to be inspected
beyond the initial visual confirmations of a VIN plate.
"HOWEVER, VIRGINIA STATE CODE IS SILENT AS TO ANY DESIGN OR
CONSTRUCTION SPECIFICATIONS FOR THOSE VEHICLES OR FOR TOWING
CHAINS AND HITCHES. The purpose of this TECHNICAL ALERT is to draw attention
to the POTENTIAL dangers of unsafe trailers on roadways in the Commonwealth. In many
cases, towed trailers may be in OBVIOUS violations of safety codes that relate to lighting,
braking and inspection requirements. Wherever possible, LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS
should be trained in ways to quickly and easily identify such vehicles. In other cases, a trailer
may meet all legal requirements but still be hazardous when used in transportation. THE TEAM
RECOMMENDS THAT THE DEPARTMENT OF MOTOR VEHICLES, THE DEPARTMENT
OF STATE POLICE AND OR MEMBERS OF THE VIRGINIA GENERAL ASSEMBLY
REVIEW THE CURRENT ADMINISTRATIVE CODE AND CONSIDER WAYS TO
IMPROVE SAFETY WITH REGARD TO TRAILERS OPERATED ON VIRGINIA ROADS.

These car trailers weigh about two thousand pounds. I rented one a U-Haul last spring. It was a two axle just like they had. So that's 2,000 plus the weight of that corvette. Say another 2,500 lbs. to be conservative.

That's nearly 5,000 lbs. if they had any junk in the vette. And I think the vette weighs more than 2,500 lbs. anyway.

A Nissan Pathfinder isn't even a truck. It's an SUV which in today's models don't even have a truck frame and suspension.

My point is if you went to U-Haul with this vehicle to rent a car trailer like this they would tell you sorry...can't do it. This is a clear case of not enough vehicle for the job. I have an '84 Blazer. When I rented that trailer and towed it to Vegas and picked up a Mazda MX-6 the trailer and Mazda weighed almost 6,000 combined. That was right at the legal weight I could tow.

This family is dead because they didn't think. This is so sad.

looks like the Vette was on the trailer backwards ? maybe thats why he lost control . no tongue weight,

The industry does not want any more restrictions on their products and that is why
they make the gross weight just under 3,000 pounds.

I have a problem knowing my grandmother can go to LOWES and buy on right now
and drive home.

In addition many state's let you build one yourself with no inspections on what you built
is roadworthy.

That is why you see old pick up beads cut in half and they weld a hitch to it and they
call it a trailer.

The industry has paid out over $8,000 to a local dalegagte in Virginia to stop anymore
restrictions Like maybe taking a clsss on HOW TO TOW before you can buy one.

Or maybe a class on how to hitch one to your vehicle.

Go to www.dangeroustrailers.com and then here to see what people are doing.
http://www.homesteadingtoday.com/showthread.p...

My condolences to the family and friends, of those who passed away yesterday. I am deeply saddend by what happened, I drive right by there daily and I felt weird driving there today, just an uneasy feeling. I too saw pictures and really I don't think it mattered if belts were on or if the car seats were installed correctly, the truck was totally smashed, I think no matter what, the outcome would still be the same. Again, my condolences to the family, may God be with you in your time of sorrow.

Bob, get some counseling.
My heart goes out to the family now coping with this unfortunate tragedy. All I can say is that it makes me feel ill. The thought of these little babies...innocent and having no say in what happened.
I agree, towing is a big deal, and certainly some sort of certification should be in place to do so. It is too much of a risk to yourself and others on the road. I can't believe what I see sometimes. People are not safe.
A young family lost their life. So terribe.

My thoaghts and condolences go to the families involved. I am a Product Liability Investigator who investigates accidents just like this. No one should comment on who did what and what went wrong unless your are an EXPERT and have all the facts. When you assume and accuse your only hurting the families!!!

So Sad!!

http://www.nissanusa.com/frontier/specificati... read the towing capacity for this truck and the answers are obvious. The trailer with the car on it along with the the cargo and passengers in the truck all mean one thing. Overlaoded vehicle, it's a common mistake I see everyday, it's a shame this kind of thing ever happens. The smallest truck used to tow this setup should have been a 3/4 ton truck not a mid-size half ton. The trailer with it's load was too much to handle especially at freeway speed, the trailer took control. Hopefully at least one person can learn from this and save someone's life.