If you due west of St. Louis for about two and a half hours, you will find yourself in Cole County, home to Missouri’s capital, Jefferson City. The county was also recently the site of a multivehicle work-zone crash that left two people injured, including one with injuries described as serious.
The Missouri Highway Patrol said a chain reaction was triggered a vehicle driven by a 38-year-old woman slammed into the rear of a 63-year-old woman’s vehicle. The latter vehicle then hit the car in front of it, which then hit another vehicle and so on. Five vehicles were involved in the series of collisions in the construction zone.
According to the news report, the 63-year-old suffered serious injuries in the initial crash. The newspaper account did not include details about how fast the 38-year-old’s vehicle was traveling at the time of impact.
In 2017 (the most recent year for which crash data is available), there were 12 fatal work zone crashes on Missouri roads, up from the previous three-year average of 9.3 such events. A total of 15 people were killed in the crashes, which was up from the previous three-year average of 10.3.
One road construction worker was killed that year in our state, as well as one pedestrian.
Over the past decade, the safest year in Missouri road construction was 2012. “Safe” is a relative word in this context, of course, as seven people died in work zone crashes. The worst recent year was 2008, in which 18 people lost their lives needlessly in violent work zone crashes.
If you or a loved one has been harmed in a crash caused by another motorist, you have the right to pursue full compensation for medical costs, lost wages and other damages. Discuss your legal options with a St. Louis personal injury attorney.
