While most serious car accidents involve collisions between two or more vehicles, rollovers can occur when no one else is on the road. When a vehicle’s wheels lose contact with the road, the driver and passengers inside frequently suffer serious, or even fatal, injuries. A tragic incident in Port Orchard involving two young people highlighted the devastating consequences of these crashes.

Just before midnight on July 17, a Subaru Impreza driven by an 18-year-old man flipped over on Pine Road, near Burley. He was seriously injured and the teenage girl riding in the car with him was killed. According to a witness, the vehicle lost control, hit several trees and left the ground. Damage to the car from the rollover required members of the South Kitsap Fire and Rescue squad to remove the victims so they could receive medical treatment.

Though the contributing causes of the fatal crash were not immediately apparent, there are several factors commonly associated with rollover accidents, such as:

• High speed — A witness indicated that the car was traveling at a high speed before the incident. Driving too fast reduces a driver’s ability to react to changes in road conditions, curves or obstacles, making it more likely for the car to flip, especially when sudden turns are made at high velocity.

• Sharp turns and overcorrections — Many rollovers occur when a driver makes a sharp turn or swerves because they did not anticipate a curve in the road or a hard-to-see hazard. This might happen when an animal runs in front of the car or the motorist is distracted by their phone or something else. 

• Slick conditions — Wet driving surfaces make it more difficult for tires to establish and maintain traction, especially at a high speed. 

• Obstacles in or near the road — Based on the witness account, the victims’ car might have careened off the road then gone airborne after striking a tree. Even a small object on the road could be enough to knock a vehicle off balance in certain conditions. 

• Vehicles with high centers of gravity — Though the Subaru in the Port Orchard crash was a sedan, SUVs and trucks are more prone to rollovers because they have high centers of gravity. 

Some rollovers are caused by contact with other vehicles, but even if it was a single-car auto accident, there might be several liable parties, including the vehicle manufacturer or the government authority responsible for designing or maintaining the road. In this case however, a wrongful death claim could be brought against the driver by the personal representative for the female victim’s estate. 

GSJones Law Group, P.S. in Port Orchard represents plaintiffs in personal injury and wrongful death claims arising from rollovers and other types of auto accidents. Please call 360-876-9221 or contact us online for a consultation. We assist residents of Kitsap, Mason and Jefferson counties, as well as Vashon Island.