In Branch County, MI, on September 27, 2008 around 12:14 a.m. Saturday a fatal car accident occurred, leaving one man dead and a child seriously injured. It happened on Clarendon Road near Herrickville Road. When police arrived two vehicles were in a ditch. One vehicle was burning with the driver trapped inside. He was pronounced dead at the scene. A child passenger was airlifted to a major medical center. The driver of the second car did not sustain injuries from the crash but was burned trying to rescue the other driver. Police report that alcohol is a factor in this fatal crash and the names of the victims have not been released.
According to the National Center for Statistics and Analysis (NCSA), the leading cause of death for children between the ages of 2 – 14 years of age is motor vehicle accidents (http://www-nrd.nhtsa.dot.gov/Pubs/810803.PDF). Motor vehicle accidents are also the leading cause of acquired disability in children. Children make up approximately 5% of the accident fatalities. Approximately 6 children are killed and 700 children are injured every day in car crashes. Nearly 21% of children that are killed in car accidents die from drivers that are operating vehicles while over the legal blood alcohol level. And nearly half the deceased children that are killed by drunk drivers were intoxicated passengers at the time of the accidents (http://www.cdc.gov/ncipc/factsheets/childpas.htm & http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5304a2.htm & http://www-nrd.nhtsa.dot.gov/Pubs/2002chdfacts.pdf).
