Update: Mercy High School Student Killed in Ford Explorer Rollover/Flip in Cherokee Park
The Courier Journal has identified the victim in the tragic car accident that occurred on Tuesday night. The teenager who died after being ejected from an SUV that rolled over on Cherokee Road near Barney Avenue on Tuesday night has been identified as 16 year-old Natalie Thompson, a student at Mercy Academy.
Officer Phil Russell, another police spokesman, said the accident happened on a winding section of Cherokee Road about 9:30 p.m.
Russell said the three people who were ejected were not wearing seat belts.
Bahe Cook Cantley & Jones auto accident and product liability lawyer Larry Jones says, "Despite the fact that the driver in this case might have been at fault for the car wreck, vehicles are not supposed to flip. In cases in which an occupant suffers serious personal injuries, it is imperative that the vehicle be immediately secured and a product liability specialist is dispatched to inspect the vehicle, along with an accident reconstructionist."
Jones also says, "In cases in which a vehicle occupant is 'ejected' from the vehicle, it is many times concluded that the occupant was not wearing a seat belt. However, what many people don't realize, is that there are many ways to determine whether or not someone was a wearing a seat belt at the time of the wreck. The high tech way to make such a determination is to retrieve the vehicle's 'black box' --a data recorder that tells various things such as speed at the time of the wreck, whether the airbags deployed and which occupants were wearing seatbelts. Also, an autopsy can reveal signs that the occupant was belted, such as belt burns on the shoulder or neck." Jones says, "Anytime there is a car accident that causes a death, all potential claims must be examined by those with the experience and know-how to identify the various at-fault parties."
For more information about car accident reconstruction teams and claims against auto manufacturers or others responsible for the injuries or death of another, visit http://www.kentuckyinjurylaw.com/
