Driver Killed In Head on Collision

A car accident in West Palm Beach, FL claimed the life of a 46-year-old man. According to the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office, the crash occurred just before 8 a.m. Thursday when Valeria M. Soto De Fazio, 25, was changing lanes in her 2005 Toyota Corolla on northbound Military Trail at Wallis Road near West Palm Beach.

The deceased was also proceeding northbound on Military Trail at a high rate of speed when he swerved to avoid the Toyota, but instead drove into the path of an oncoming 1992 Lexus SC400 driven by Alain Naranjo-Garcia, 27.

As reported by the Sun Sentinel, the deceased driver lost control and was ejected by the crash. He was taken to St. Mary’s Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead.

The victim’s identity was being withheld until his family could be notified.

As reported by the CDC, Motor vehicle crashes are the leading killer of children, teens, and young adults (ages 5 to 34) and among the top ten causes of death for all ages. Over 30,000 people are killed in crashes each year in the United States.

As a Miami Car Accident Attorney, the one thing I do know is that seat belts do save lives. In this particular case, the driver was ejected, which means that he was most likely not wearing his seat belt, or the seat belt failed.

In 2009 more than 2.3 million adult drivers and passengers were treated in emergency departments as the result of being injured in motor vehicle crashes. Given those numbers, the most effective way to reduce the chance of injury is by wearing a seat belt. Seat belts can reduce the risk of serious injury or death by up to 50%, yet millions of adults do not wear their seat belts on every trip.

If in doubt, remember that greater than 50% of the people killed in car crashes were not restrained at the time of the crash.