A car accident report from Franklin County, Washington, tells of a man who survived a near-fatal accident. Officers with the Washington State Patrol said that Nicholas Smith, 40, of St. Helens, Oregon, was sleeping while driving on Saturday morning, May 16th.
The investigators’ preliminary report showed that the man was traveling on US 395 at about 11 a.m. Smith was south of the town of Connell, and his vehicle was heading north on the highway. The man’s tired state made him drift and strike another car northbound on the same roadway.
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The WSP said the man kept drifting until he went off the roadway and fell off an embankment. He landed headfirst into the bottom of a gully, and only lived to die another day because of the vehicle’s airbags. Smith was also wearing a seat belt at the time, and it also helped to preserve his life.
The medics took the man to an undisclosed hospital to treat his injuries, but not before the troopers cited him for negligent driving. There is no additional information at this time.
Several reports of car accidents show that drowsiness is one of the causes of accidents. It is caused by motorists not getting enough rest before getting behind the wheel, or taking pills that induce sleep. Drivers who sleep while behind the wheel cause collisions or veer off the roadway.
Traffic officials advise drivers to have adequate rest before driving and avoid pills with drowsiness as a side effect. If a motorist feels sleepy, he or she should park on the slow lane where the flow of traffic won’t get affected and look for a transport alternative.
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