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4 California Farm Workers Killed in Van Rollover Accident

Four California farm workers were killed in a tragic van rollover accident near Coalinga this week. According to the California Highway Patrol, there were seven farm workers in the van. The accident occurred on Interstate 5.  The van driver seems to have lost control of the van after the vehicle struck road debris believed to be a wheel rim. The van flipped over several times. The 21-year-old driver of the van and two passengers were injured. One of the passengers was seriously injured, and had to be taken to a hospital. Four of the farm workers in the van sustained fatal injuries.

The workers were employees of Paramount Farms of Lost Hills. The California Highway Patrol is investigating the accident.

Vans, pickup trucks and sport utility vehicles belong to a special category of vehicles that are especially at risk of rollovers. These vehicles account for most of the fatal and serious rollover accidents that occur in California every year. The biggest defect in the design of these vehicles is that it comes with a  high center of gravity, increasing the risk of being involved in a <strong>van rollover</strong> accident, especially when these vehicles are turning or when the driver slams on the brakes at high speed.

In fact, 15-passenger vans are at a much higher risk of rollover accidents than other types of vehicles. Accidents involving such vehicles often turn tragic, and result in multiple fatalities, because these vans are mainly used to transport large numbers of people. For instance, recent rollover accidents in Georgia and New York involved 15- passenger vans that were used to transport members of church groups. These vans are also very often used by schools for to take students on field trips.

California car accident attorneys and auto safety groups have called upon the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to ban 15-passenger vans altogether. These vans have been shown to be inherently unstable, and are highly prone to rollovers in circumstances that don’t lead to a rollover in other vehicles. However, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has stopped short of a complete ban on these vehicles. Instead, the agency every year issues a safety advisory, cautioning people about the risks of van rollovers. Every year, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration warns Americans about the fact that these vans have a high risk of rollovers.

Approximately 5,000 people are killed in rollover accidents every year. Many of these rollover accidents involve 15-passnger vans. Many of these fatalities and injuries could be prevented if the use of such vans is banned altogether. However, the federal agency has failed to take these hazards seriously, with the result that serious van rollover accidents that result in multiple deaths, occur frequently.

The Reeves Law Group is a law firm with offices throughout California dedicated exclusively to the representation of personal injury victims, including victims of vehicle rollovers. Please visit our website at trlglaw.com. If you desire a free consultation on a personal injury matter, please call us at (800) 644-8000 or email us.

The Reeves Law Group is not representing any party in the matters discussed in this posting.

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