Sixteen-year-old, Wayne Torrie died after he was ejected in a Utah rollover crash in Weber County, Utah. This fatal Utah auto accident happened on Tuesday, March 23, 2010 at around 6:45 p.m.. According to a report given by the Salt Lake Tribune, Torrie was driving on 4700 West and 2200 South in Weber County. A deputy saw a Chevy Suburban matching the description of an SUV that the Cache County Sheriff’s Office was looking for. The deputy attempted to stop the SUV, but Torrie sped away and crashed just a short distance later. He was not wearing a seatbelt and was ejected when the Suburban overturned in a field. Police are unclear as to why Torrie didn’t stop for the deputy.
I offer my sincerest condolences to the Torrie family as they mourn this tragic loss.
Passenger Vehicle Ejection Statistics
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration published a fairly extensive report on this topic. The report examined issues related to the ejection of passenger vehicle occupants in fatal crashes from 2003 through 2007. The study showed that only 2% of vehicle occupants who were wearing a seat belt were ejected from their vehicles, while 35.3% of unrestrained occupants were ejected. Of the 155,359 passengers who were fatally injured, over 25% of them were ejected from their vehicles. The percentage of occupants ejected was twice as high when the speed limit was 60 mph or higher.
Cars seem to be getting safer as the study shows that newer make and model cars have are designed to limit the chance of being ejected during an accident. And obviously, wearing a seatbelt will dramatically decrease the likelihood being ejected during a car accident.