Two Men Killed in a Tampa Wrong-Way Collision

By Orlando Personal Injury Attorney on March 29, 2016

Interstate 275 is back open near downtown Tampa after a deadly wrong-way crash on February 13th. The two cars collided on the Ashley Drive exit ramp around 5:40 a.m. Both drivers, two men, died as a result of the crash. The road was closed for nearly 5 hours as investigators looked through the wreckage. The victims were identified as Eugene M. Fischer, 65, and Larry Lorenza Thompson, 47, and were the only people involved in the accident. The investigation into what caused this fatal accident is still underway, but Florida Highway Patrol spokesman Steve Gaskins released a statement about the how drivers can avoid these all too frequent wrong-way accidents that often occur at night.

"Pay attention to what you’re doing, put all the distractions down. Keep your eyes focused as far down the road as you can so you can see headlights coming at you, especially at night time when a lot of these wrong-way incidents occur," he said. Gaskins also said a good rule of thumb when driving on a multi-lane road at night is to drive in the right lane. This is because a wrong-way driver that doesn’t realize they’re going the wrong-way will most likely be traveling in their far right lane.

Wrong-way accidents occur when a vehicle enters the travel lane of oncoming traffic, typically resulting in a head-on or offset front-end collision. Because the two automobiles are heading toward one another, the combined approach speed of the vehicles means there is usually little or no time for the drivers to react in time to brake or avoid the collision. As you would expect with a high speed, head-on crash, wrong-way accidents present a very high potential for serious injury or death because of the extreme forces involved.

Although drunk driving is among one of the top reasons wrong-way accidents occur, many wrong-way accidents are not at the fault of the drivers at all. Theses types of auto accidents are commonly caused by missing or ineffective signage warning drivers they are entering oncoming traffic, especially in areas where temporary signage is used (or should have been used) such as construction zones or freeways under repair.

For these reasons, determining fault in an accident can be difficult, and can include city officials or government organizations. If you or someone you know was killed or injured in an Orlando wrong-way accident, contact the Law Offices of James O. Cunningham P.A. today at 877-FL-INJURY (877-354-6587) for a free case evaluation. We’ll work had to uncover the reasons why your accident occurred and hold all responsible parties accountable for your injuries and losses.

James O. Cunningham

Since 1977, personal injury lawyer James Cunningham has provided effective legal advocacy to people who are injured through the negligent actions of another person or entity throughout the Central Florida area. He fights to obtain recoveries for his clients’ physical and emotional pain and suffering and pursues his clients’ personal injury cases with a commitment to excellence and impeccable preparation.