An elderly Yuma man was reported at fault in an Arizona car accident that involved two separate accidents, including a collision with a tractor-trailer, the Yuma Sun reported.
Our Phoenix injury attorneys reported this week on the challenges faced by older motorists. But in this case the 79-year-old driver is blaming the accident on a stuck accelerator pedal.
Yuma police said the man was driving a 2002 four-door Dodge eastbound on 24th Street when he reported that the accelerator pedal stuck. He swerved to avoid traffic but struck a 2002 Volvo semi before continuing eastbound. He made it through the stop lights at 1st Avenue and continued on toward the intersection at Arizona Avenue before he was involved in a second collision.
He then rear-ended a 1993 Ford F-150 work truck. A passenger in the truck was taken to Yuma Regional Medical Center. The elderly driver of the Dodge was flown to a Phoenix hospital.
The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety reports that 4,268 motorists over the age of 70 were killed in car accidents in 2008. Unlike most national statistics, which have been in steady decline over the past two decades, significantly more older adults were killed in traffic accidents than the 3,775 who died in 1975. The elderly population has also doubled during that time, from 14.5 million to 27.5 million.
If you have been injured in a traffic accident, contact the Phoenix accident lawyers at Abels & Annes for a free and confidential appointment to discuss your rights. Call (602) 819-5191 today.