According to Alabama State Troopers, seventeen year old Ashlynn Phillips and fifteen year old Joshua Seiber were injured when they were ejected from the backseat of the 1997 Ford F-150 pickup that struck a guard rail on the overpass on US 31. The driver of the truck, eighteen year old Alexander Sapp, and the other front seat passenger, Nicholas Michetti, also eighteen, were uninjured as they walked away from the accident.

The accident occurred at approximately 9:00 pm on U.S. 31 South at the railroad overpass near Old Highway 31, police said.

According to http://www.dmv.org/al-alabama/safety-laws.php, “If you are in the front seat of a running vehicle, you must wear a safety belt or risk a fine of up to $25 from the Alabama Department of Public Safety (DPS). If you are seated in the back seat you are NOT required to wear a seat belt unless you are under 15 years old.”

While it is unknown if the front seat passengers were wearing a seatbelt, it can be safely assumed that the two ejected from the backseat were not. They are lucky to be alive. www.cdc.com states that “Seat belts prevent drivers and passengers from being ejected during a crash. People not wearing a seat belt are 30 times more likely to be ejected from a vehicle during a crash. More than 3 out of 4 people who are ejected during a fatal crash die from their injuries.”

If you or a loved one has been injured due to the negligence of a driver in an Alabama pickup truck accident, you may have a case to recover monetary damages. Give us a call at Ferguson and Ferguson Attorneys at Law. If you are incapacitated and can’t make it to see us, and you have a case, we will come out to see you.