Wednesday, Sept. 2, 2009

Photo from the Amarillo Globe-News

TEXAS: This is just tragic: An unlicensed 14-year-old driver caused an accident that killed five people in the car, including herself, her mother and her brother. According to this story in the Amarillo Globe-News, Aime Banuelos was driving a minivan along Highway 70 about 10 miles north of Pampa when she took her eyes off the road and crossed the median, crashing into an oncoming truck. A photo from Amarillo.com shows a decimated, burned minivan on the side of the road.

"The scene was heartbreaking," said a spokesman for the state troopers. "I don't want to elaborate. It was difficult for the officers. It's difficult to face that sort of decimation. Any human would be taken aback by that type of scene."

Aime died at the scene. So did her mother, Teresa Martinez, 46; her brother, Juan Banuelos, 15; her friend, Jeff Pace, 16; and a family friend, Estafana Cortez-Rosales, 74. Martinez's granddaughter, Celeste Espitia, 5, survived and was flown to the hospital for treatment.

State troopers say the driver of the big rig Aime collided with saw her take her eyes off the road before the accident. She was leaning over picking something up, moving something, or adjusting something. Whatever it was, it took her eyes off the road for a critical few seconds.

PENNSYLVANIA: A 16-year-old was killed on her first day at a new school as she took a ride home. Police say all three occupants in the car were wearing their seatbelts, and speeding did not appear to be a factor, according to this story. But the driver lost control somehow, and Alexandra Smolin, 16, was killed. She had only been at Central Bucks South high school for a day, having recently moved from Florida.

Other newspapers have her name spelled correctly, and there's a nice memorial story here.

NORTH CAROLINA: Police say 18-year-old Bryan Patrick Sheppard of Reidsville died Wednesday afternoon when he pulled in front of an oncoming car. He was driving a 1985 Pontiac when he tried to cross the highway, and was hit by a 2006 Toyota heading southbound. Both drivers were wearing seatbelts.

Tuesday, Sept. 1, 2009


No fatal accidents reported through Google News Alerts or through Nexis. Could we have had a safe day?

UPDATE: No such luck.

OHIO: Rebecca Ickes, of Bremen, died following an accident that happened on Tuesday which at first puzzled accident investigators. Now, police say Rebecca, known as Becky, ran a stop sign and collided with an oncoming van, according to the Lancaster Eagle-Gazette.  Becky died Wednesday from her injuries.

The stunning red head graduated from Fairfield Union High School this year and planned to attend the Lancaster campus of Ohio University in the winter semester. She wanted to major in early childhood education.

The newspaper posted a sad photo of someone holding Becky's hand after the accident. Becky's mom, Cheryl, says she's happy someone was there to hold her hand and talk to her during that time of crisis.

Monday, August 31, 2009


OREGON: Seventeen-year-old Marissa Pratt died at the scene of one-vehicle accident at 5 a.m., police said. Three others were injured. The News-Review reports that a 16-year-old female and two 22-year-old males were injured.  The 2006 Jeep Wrangler had been traveling east when the driver lost control and slid off the roadway. It rolled before coming to rest about 200 feet down an embankment.