The people of Granby are rightfully proud of their quiet, small community just 25 miles southeast of Joplin. The quiet was shattered on a recent Monday morning, however, when a 72-year-old woman walking on Main Street was struck and killed in a car accident.
Law enforcement officials said the 22-year-old woman driving a southbound vehicle fell asleep at the wheel and her car went into the northbound lane and hit the older woman.
The younger woman had apparently just left work after a night shift.
Drowsydriving.org says on its website that about 60 percent of adult drivers polled in 2005 admitted that they had driven while drowsy in the past year. Thirty-seven percent admitted that they had fallen asleep while driving.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimates that 100,000 motor vehicle accidents per year are caused by fatigued drivers. Those accidents leave behind a tragic toll, as evidenced by the crash in Granby. Each year, we lose appoximately 1,500 people in drowsy driving crashes and more than 70,000 people are injured.
Monetary losses in the wrecks exceed $12 billion annually, the NHTSA estimates.
Interestingly, the driver of the Granby vehicle is in the age group most at risk for fatigued driving: adults between ages 18 and 29.
Males are more likely than females to drive while they’re tired and are nearly twice as likely to fall asleep while behind the wheel.
Also from drowsydriving.org: “Shift workers are more likely than those who work a regular daytime schedule to drive to or from work drowsy…”
Anyone who has lost a loved one or suffered injuries as the result of a drowsy driver should contact an attorney experienced in helping accident victims pursue the compensation they deserve.
Source: The Joplin Globe, \”Granby woman killed when hit by vehicle,\” Susan Redden, May 21, 2014
