A 75-year-old male passenger was killed, and a 29-year-old female was injured recently when the car that she was driving crashed through a roofing warehouse in Huntington Park at about 1:00 a.m. According to CBS Philly, investigating police officers found the car wedged into a five foot gash the extended through the brick building.
It happens every day
A motor vehicle crashing into a building isn’t an unusual occurrence. According to Risk Management Magazine, it happens about 60 times a day in the United States.
The crashes are often attributed to drivers who are driving at excessive speeds around curves and corners or driving under the influence. There’s also growing evidence that both new and elderly drivers are responsible for an increasing number of these accidents when they hit the gas pedal rather than the brake pedal. One study by General Motors concluded that drivers between the ages of 60 and 70 were six times more likely to make pedal errors than younger drivers.
Age and parking lot configuration
A pedal error can cause a vehicle’s throttle to completely open without any brake force. Sudden acceleration that wasn’t intended can leave a driver confused and unable to avoid a crash. The Storefront Safety Council (SSC) has found that two factors influence accidents when vehicles crash into buildings. Those involve the driver’s age and parking lot configuration. Many buildings have been hit more than once a year. The SSC concluded that although “California has 400,000 more licensed drivers than Florida, Florida’s drivers crash into commercial buildings, businesses and non-residential structures at a rate that is 70 percent higher than drivers in California.”
More than one person could be held liable
Given the uncontrolled acceleration involved in a pedal error crash into a building, first floor occupants of that building are at a high risk of severe injuries or fatalities. Along with the driver, even the vehicle’s manufacturer and the owner or occupier of the property where the crash occurred might be held liable.
Contact a Philadelphia Car Accident Lawyer Today
Our law firm helps families put their lives back together after serious accidents. Contact our Philadelphia auto accident lawyers if you or somebody close to you was injured in a accident involving a motor vehicle that crashed into any type of building. We’ll arrange for a free consultation and case review, and after you tell us what happened, we’ll tell you what we believe we might be able to do for you. Since we take these cases on a contingency fee basis, you don’t need any money to retain us. We only get paid if we obtain a settlement or verdict for you.
