Just about an hour’s drive north of Joplin sits the tiny town of
Sheldon, Missouri. The quiet there was shattered on a recent Sunday afternoon
when two cars collided
head-on about a mile north of town on Interstate 49.
A car driven north by a 92-year-old Sheldon woman was reportedly in the
highway’s southbound lanes when it slammed into a car headed south.
Both drivers were killed in the crash and three people in the southbound
vehicle sustained serious injuries, the Missouri State Highway Patrol said.
The 57-year-old Nebraska man behind the wheel of the southbound car was
pronounced dead at the scene of the crash, while the trio of injured passengers
in his car – all of whom share his last name and are possibly his
family members – were either airlifted or taken by ambulance to
a Joplin hospital.
Those injured: a 56-year-old woman, a 15-year-old boy and a 21-year-old woman.
An accident involving an elderly person often prompts certain questions
in our readers\’ minds. According to DMV.com, Missouri drivers 70 years
old and above are able to renew their driver’s licenses for periods
of three years, rather than the standard six years for people between
21 and 69. Many seniors renewing their licenses will find that they are
required to take a vision test.
According to a report by Fox News, researchers say a majority of senior
drivers voluntarily cut back on their driving as they age. Despite that
decline in numbers of miles driven, their accident rates rise over the
years, beginning in their 70s and again after they pass their 80th birthday.
None of those statistics can tell us who was at fault in this latest accident,
however these are the kinds of issues an experienced attorney will investigate
in pursuit of full, fair compensation for injured clients.
Source: Joplin Globe, \”Three people killed in traffic accidents on roads in
area,\” July 27, 2014
