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Two Men Killed in Car Accident in Merced County

Two men were killed on Christmas Eve in an accident involving a pickup truck and a Ford Focus. According to the California Highway Patrol, the two men were both driving at unknown speeds. The accident occurred at about 9:40 in the evening on a rural Merced County road.  The pickup driver appeared to have run a stop sign at an intersection, broadsiding the sedan. The impact of the accident caused both vehicles to flip over several times.

The drivers were both 25-years-old males and they were both seriously injured and declared dead at the scene. Several of the passengers in the vehicles were also injured.  A man and a woman in the pickup truck sustained minor injuries, while a 16-year-old passenger in the Ford was airlifted to the hospital in Modesto with serious injuries.

Driving while following all the traffic laws is a must at any time of the year, and especially so, during the holiday season which tends to see more congested traffic. Major holidays like the Christmas and New Year season see lager numbers of vehicles on highways as well as city streets. This means that any disobedience of traffic rules can have deadly consequences.  Tailgating, red light violations and speeding can be dangerous behaviors at any other time, and especially so, when you are sharing road space with increased traffic.

Investigations into the accident are going on, and police will determine the speed of the two vehicles involved in the accident. Typically as California auto accident lawyers see, high impact accidents like the one that seems to have occurred here, tend to involve excessive speeds.  The severity of the accident and the risk of serious injuries to the occupants of the vehicle increase in proportion to the speed of the vehicle. Accidents that involve motorists driving at high speeds often tend to see severe car damage, serious injuries and possible fatalities

The accident seemed to occur on a rural stretch of road in Merced County. These roads tend to see higher instances of speeding as well as drunk driving. California personal injury lawyers have sought to bring attention to the lower enforcement of speeding and drunk driving laws on these country roads, which often tend to be neglected in favor of states, interstates, highways and major city streets. In the lack of strict enforcement, there may be more incidences of speeding, intoxicated driving as well as the disregard of traffic safety laws by motorists with serious consequences.

Rural roads also tend to be left holding the short end of the stick where road maintenance and repairs are concerned. These roads tend to be poorly designed when compared to urban roads and highways, and maintenance activities may not be as frequent as necessary. A combination of speeding or drunk driving with ill maintained roads can be deadly.

The Reeves Law Group is a law firm with offices throughout California dedicated exclusively to the representation of personal injury victims, including victims of motor vehicle accidents. 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 acting as legal counsel for any party in the matters discussed in this posting.

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