Fort Myers and Lee County Teen Car Accident Deaths Underscore Risks of Teenage Driving
Recent Lee County, Florida teenage car crashes tragically underscore the hazards involved when young, inexperienced drivers get behind the wheel.
In April, a 16-year-old, male South Fort Myers High School student was ejected from a car in an alcohol-related accident in Estero, and later died at the hospital. The 15-year-old girl driver will likely face DUI manslaughter charges in the boy's death.
In early June, within a 5-day span, again in the Estero, Florida area, two serious teenage car driving accidents left two youths with serious injuries and one dead. An 18-year-old Estero High School student was ejected from his pickup truck while speeding down a dirt road, cracking vertebrae. Days later, a 17-year-old male driver lost control of his car on Mountain View Drive in Bonita Springs, overturning the vehicle and ejecting his 16-year-old male passenger; the teen driver suffered serious personal injury and his young passenger was killed.
Florida car accident lawyers are familiar with the laws designed to keep everyone who shares our highways and roads safe. Public awareness safety initiatives such as the Florida Click It or Ticket campaign are designed to increase seat belt use. Teens involved in the Lee County, Florida fatal accidents were not wearing seat belts.
Teen Driving Risks and Statistics
According to a recent report released by the AAA, though teen driver deaths are on the decline, the people more apt to be hurt or killed in a teen car crash are passengers, pedestrians, cyclists, and other motorists. According to the report, which examined U.S. driving accidents involving teens ages 15, 16 and 17 between the years 1998 and 2007:
-Motor vehicle crashes with drivers ages 15 to 17 resulted in 28,138 people being killed.
-Of the total fatalities, 37% were teen drivers -- 10,388 teens lost their lives and their futures in auto accidents.
-For every teen driver killed, two other people are killed as a result of vehicle crashes with teens: During the study years, 17,750 passengers, other motorists over 18, and non-motorists involved in teen driving accidents were killed.
-The more teens in a vehicle, the more likely an accident is to occur.
PHOTOS: Days after horrific accidents, school officials ponder how to get students to buckle up
NaplesNews.com June 8, 2009
Estero High tragedy: Two separate accidents take life of one teen, paralyze another
NaplesNews.com June 7, 2009
AAA Report: Deadly Teen Car Crashes On the Decline
WCAV.tv Feb. 27, 2009
Related Web Resources
AAA Report: Teen Crashes: Everyone Is At Risk
People Fatally-Injured In Motor Vehicle Crashes Involving 15- to 17-Year-Olds:
2009 Update
Allstate Insurance: Start the Conversation -- Teaching Your Teen to Drive
Making Your Teen a “Smart Driver”
