Man Killed In Rollover Crash On Highway 18
A 23-year-old La Verne man who died in a vehicle rollover accident on Highway 18 on November 22, 2008, has been identified as Timothy Richard Dewhurst, the San Gabriel Valley Tribune reports. Dewhurst, a passenger, was ejected from the 2003 Subaru station wagon when it rolled over near the westbound side of Highway 18 near Orchard Drive. He suffered severe injuries and was transported to a local hospital where he later died.
My heart goes out to the family of Timothy Richard Dewhurst, who died in this tragic rollover accident. Please keep his family in your prayers.
Rollover accidents are among the most common and most catastrophic types of crashes that occur on our roadways today. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), more than 10,000 people are killed and more than 24,000 people suffer catastrophic injuries in rollover crashes every year in the United States.
There are many things that could have gone wrong in this 11/22/08 accident. There could have been a vehicle malfunction or an inherent product defect in the station wagon that caused the driver to lose control of the vehicle. It is also possible that there may have been a dangerous condition on the highway, which caused this crash.
Based on this newspaper article, it seems as if Dewhurst was buckled up. If I were a member of Dewhurst’s family, I would also want to have the station wagon thoroughly checked for seatbelt failure since he was ejected from the vehicle. I’d bet that Dewhurst’s life would have been saved had his seatbelt worked the way it was supposed to work.
I’d urge the family of Timothy Richard Dewhurst to retain the services of an experienced seatbelt defect attorney who can help analyze the facts of the case and help determine whether seatbelt failure caused Dewhurst’s fatal injuries. There are many reasons why seatbelts can fail, either due to inertial unlatching or false latching (when the seatbelt comes unlatched during a crash). Seatbelt failure can also occur when the seatbelt retractor, which is supposed to lock the seatbelt webbing and hold the occupant in place, fails. A skilled auto product defect attorney can use experts to analyze the vehicle and help determine what went wrong, why the accident occurred and who should be held responsible for Dewhurst’s fatal injuries.
Comments
CHP report the driver was DUI.
Posted by: Anonymous | November 25, 2008 5:29 PM
Tim's sister Danielle is close to me and my heart goes out to her family so much. i agree that the car should get checked even though the driver was drunk driving. still something could have gone wrong with the car.
Posted by: Kelly | November 25, 2008 8:32 PM
I was a friend of Tim Dewhurst and I find his death extremely tragic. My thoughts go out to his family. I would just like to say to the writer of this article, had you done a further investigation you would have found that this tagic death was not due to the car or seatbelt's malfunction, but the driver's. The driver was drunk and Tim was not wearing his seat belt. Sometimes accidents do happen due to human error and not just product malfunction. I find it absolutely rediculous that in such a tragic time someone wants to starting pointing fingers and suing people. While money may be nice to have, it won't bring Tim back.
Posted by: Nameless | November 26, 2008 8:07 AM
Kelly is of course right when she writes that money, "...won't bring Tim back." Money will not reduce the suffering Tim's family and friends are experiencing nor will it return them what they have lost.
By specifically identifying what went wrong in serious accidents, we can build safer cars, safer highways and take individual responsibility to act in a safer manner.
We have been involved in numerous cases where auto makers having knowingly used inferior seat belts, knowing they have a propensity to unlatch during an accident, in order to save fifty cents.
Do we, as a society, want to let product manufacturers expose us to needless risk of serious harm that we are not warned about, in order for them to make an additional fifty cents of profit?
Without knowing exactly what went wrong in a serious injury accident, we will not know how to prevent them.
Without holding wrongdoers accountable for the harm they cause, they will continue to harm people.
Without people knowing their rights and options, they have no rights and options.
Posted by: John Bisnar | November 26, 2008 8:37 AM
Tim was a blessing to my kids and to our family. My prayers are with his family as well as the Yelton family. My hope is that the friends that grieve his loss will also take something from this horrible experience. DON'T DRIVE & DRIVE!
Yesterday is a memory, tomorrow is not promised... today is a gift. That is why it is called "the present". Live each day as though it were the last and let God guide your steps. We all have a calling... Tim did too!
Many blessings. We will see him again!
Posted by: Sharon Wilson | November 29, 2008 8:26 PM
Hearts out to the family. Don't know how i could handel it, from the familys side. Great parents love the boys and really supported them. Tim is and always will be hard working baseball player, he played for me couple months ago pitched 3 stronge inns. Didn't want to come out of the game,thats the kind of player he is. I looked up in the stands and there was Tim's dad. Made me fill so good I could finnally get one of his boys to play for me. In high school Tim thur a no hitter striking out 14 batters. What a game. My son is at the funnel as i write. God bless the family. Love and prays. Ken Huth
Posted by: ken huth | December 2, 2008 2:01 PM