Fatal rollover accident underscores crash risks

A 33 year old woman died at the Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital in Fort Worth on Sunday from injuries sustained in a rollover accident.  Melissa Traffanstedt’s SUV left the roadway and, according to the Tarrant County sheriff’s department, came to rest upside down in Village Creek.

Accidents like this are not uncommon in Texas, where big SUVs and pickup trucks often combine with high speed road travel to result in deadly rollover accidents.  Many times rollovers happen when the driver loses control of their vehicle, which can cause the vehicle to slide sideways.  In this situation it is easy for it to encounter an object like a curb, guardrail, tree stump, or other obstacle and flip sideways or onto its roof.  These are often known as “tripped” accidents.

Rollovers can also be caused by a driver trying to turn a vehicle too quickly, especially if they are speeding.  The frictional forces between the tire and the road result in the vehicle tipping and then rolling; these types of crashes are known as “untripped” or “frictional” rollovers.

Rollover accidents are not as common as other types of accidents like rear-ending, side-swipes, or front end collisions, but they are often quite deadly.  This is often because they happen at a high rate of speed and the occupants are not wearing seat-belts, which causes them to be partially or fully ejected from the vehicle.

To read more about rollover accidents and what you can do to stay safe, see our law library articles “Five tips for surviving deadly rollover accidents in Texas” and “Rollover Accidents”.