Elkhart — 1 Dead After Collision in Anderson County
Posted on Thursday, January 24th, 2019 at 9:40 pm
On Thursday morning, January 24, 2019, a 2-vehicle collision that occurred on Texas Highway 19 and County Road 181 in Anderson County killed 1 woman and injured another.
According to the preliminary investigation, Rebecca Lynne Burke, a 61-year-old resident of Elkhart, was traveling south on Texas Highway 19 (U.S. 287), south of the city of Elkhart, when suddenly, she swerved into the oncoming lane and crashed into the truck-tractor towing a semi-trailer of diesel. This collision then resulted in a fuel spill.
The driver of the truck-tractor was identified as Joe Salva. He was flown to Christus Trinity Mother Francis Hospital in Tyler where he was treated and eventually released.
Burke, on the other hand, was pronounced dead at the scene.
It is incredibly terrible to hear of the passing of Rebecca Lynne Burke, and it is even more terrible to realize that she is not the first victim whose life is taken away by a car accident. Car accidents like this happen quite often. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), car accidents happen almost every minute of every day, and for every 16 minutes, a car accident occurs that results in death. This can be translated to roughly about 6 million car accidents every year and 90 people dying in car accidents every day in the U.S. alone.
Tractor-trailer accident is a particular kind of vehicular accidents, and it is quite a deadly one simply because a tractor-trailer is one of the largest and most dangerous vehicles in the world. In the United States alone, it is estimated that there are more than 2 million tractor-trailers cruising America’s roadways, and every year, they are involved in more than 500,000 accidents. And because of a tractor-trailer’s size, the results of this kind of accident are of course catastrophic, from a severe injury to death.
Another particularly deadly type of car accident is a head-on collision. In fact, it is said to be probably the most dangerous type of crashes, simply because of the increased force sustained by both drivers. Reports estimate that head-on collisions only comprise 2% of reported crashes, but they do account for well over 10% of driving fatalities. Spinal injuries, brain injuries, catastrophic injuries, broken bones, paralysis, and of course death are some of the common outcomes of a head-on collision.
If you are a victim of this kind of accident, or you know someone who is, or you lost a loved one because of this type of crash, then never hesitate to reach out for help. The police will be there for you, but more than that, car accident attorneys, especially those who specialize in truck accidents, are also present to help you protect your rights and get the justice that you deserve.
