Deadly Multi-Car Accident on Nashville Interstate
The Nashville Metro Police released the names of the people involved in a multi-car accident on Interstate 40 recently. At around 6:00 a.m. in the eastbound lanes of Interstate 40 near Hermitage, Nathan Zarzycki, 22, was driving his Dodge Neon back from working in Texas with four passengers. Wanting to get some sleep, Mr. Zarzycki pulled over to the shoulder of the interstate, turned on his emergency flashers, and went to sleep.
Unbeknownst to him, Mr. Zarzycki had actually stopped in the far left lane. The driver of a Ford van, Mark King, 50, collided with Mr. Zarzycki’s car and overturned the van. Mr. King told investigators that at the time of the accident the Dodge Neon did not have its emergency flashers on. A third driver, Matthew Pierce, 28, then crashed into Mr. King’s van.
The drivers Mr. King and Mr. Pierce were not seriously injured in the accident, but two passengers in Mr. Zarzycki’s car were killed in the crash. A third passenger was critically injured, and the fourth passenger along with Mr. Zarzycki suffered non-life threatening injuries.
According to the accident report, it does not appear that the Dodge Neon was on the shoulder of the road like Mr. Zarzycki believed but was actually in the far left lane. There is no evidence that drugs or alcohol played a role in the crash, and police are still investigating the accident.
Tennessee Car Accidents
According to the Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security, there have been a total of 185 fatalities because of car accidents so far this year. Drowsy driving is one of the most dangerous conditions for a driver to be in on the road. Around 60 percent of drivers admit to driving drowsy, and around one-third of those admit to falling asleep behind the wheel. Four percent of drivers have been involved in an accident or a near accident because they dozed off or were too tired to drive.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimates that over 100,000 accidents happen each year across the country because of drowsy driving, resulting in around 1,550 deaths, 71,000 injuries, and $12.5 billion in expenses. Studies have shown that men, adults with children, and shift workers are most likely to be involved in a drowsy driving accident.
Shift workers reported that 36 percent are more likely to drive drowsy a few days per month than normal daytime workers, who only reported at 25 percent. A study in Australia showed that being awake for 18 hours and then driving was the same as having a 0.05 percent BAC, and staying awake for a full 24 hours equated to a 0.10 percent BAC.
Call a Nashville Car Accident Lawyer
If you or someone that you know has been injured in a car accident in or around the Nashville area, reach out to the personal injury lawyers at Calhoun Law, PLC. We are prepared to help you in any way that we can.
