New Jersey Man Killed After Tire Blowout Accident

A New Jersey man is dead after his van overturned during a tire blowout accident. The accident occurred on the Garden State Parkway in Ocean County.

Witnesses said they saw the van traveling north on the parkway when the driver lost control of the vehicle. The van began to spin out and eventually overturned as a result of a tire blowout. The accident occurred at 5:15 causing major delays for commuters on their way home from work.

As of yet, police have not released much information concerning the crash. This includes the name of the man who lost his life. This is typical in these types of accidents. Police will hang onto the name of the victim until their family can be notified. This is so that the family does not have to learn about their loved one’s death from the television.

Determining Liability

Tire blowouts that occur while a vehicle is still in motion tend to be the most serious. If the sidewall or treads fail while the vehicle is over 40 mph, there is a good chance that the driver will not be able to adapt to what happens next. Once the tire blows out, the vehicle immediately starts pulling in the direction. The tendency of the driver is to overcompensate in the other direction. The result is almost always that the vehicle ends up in a ditch, capsized, striking another vehicle, or colliding with the guardrails.

Investigating an accident like this starts with the tire. The causes of tire failure are generally well known. For instance, we can see just by looking at the tire whether or not the sidewalls or the treads failed. In other cases, we can see some piece of road debris that contributed to the accident in the tire’s treads.

Usually, there is no road debris. When a nail or a piece of glass embeds itself into the tire, the tire generally leaks air slowly over time. This gives the driver a chance to recognize what’s going on and take precautions. However, tread failure and sidewall failure don’t leak air slowly. Instead, they expend all of their air simultaneously and explosively. The explosion itself can cause the vehicle to overturn, especially vehicles like SUVs which are top-heavy. But usually, the cause of the vehicle overturning what the driver does to maintain control of the vehicle. This, however, doesn’t mean that the driver is liable for the crash.

Liability is determined by whose influence was the closest cause of the tire failure. When obvious reasons for tire failure (like underinflation or overinflation) can be ruled out, you’re left with only a manufacturing or a design defect.

Talk to a Florida Defective Tire Attorney Today

If you believe that tire failure played a role in your car accident, contact the Coral Gables tire defect attorneys at Halpern, Santos & Pinkert today to schedule a free consultation. We’ll investigate the tire and determine the likely source of the liability. We will litigate your suit to the fullest extent of our ability and secure a settlement that will compensate you for your damages.

Resource:

nj.com/ocean/2020/06/1-killed-in-garden-state-parkway-crash-following-tire-blowout-cops-say.html

https://www.tiredefectattorney.com/how-many-people-die-each-year-due-to-tire-blowouts/