A Groveland woman was killed in a vehicle crash involving a church van Saturday in Polk City, FL the Florida Highway Patrol said.
According to the Lakeland Ledger, Rebecca A. Barner, 47, of Polk City, FL died at the scene of the crash that occurred about 4 p.m. on State Road 33 north of Green Pond Road, the FHP said. Her passenger. Her passenger Irmarilis Rosario, 35, of Groveland, was taken to Lakeland Regional Medical Centerr, in Lakeland, FL with serious injuries.
According to an Florida Highway Patrol report, Barner was driving north on S.R. 33, in Polk City, FL when she failed to observe a stopped car. Her 2003 Volkswagen sedan veered onto the grass shoulder and she lost control, spinning counter-clockwise through the northbound lane and into the southbound lane, where it was struck by a 2003 Ford van driven by James M. Adair, 63, of Valrico, FL.
The van struck the Volkswagen's driver's side door. Barner, who was wearing a seat belt at the time of the crash, was declared dead at the scene. Rosario, who also was wearing a seat belt, was taken to Lakeland Regional Medical Center, in Lakeland, FL. Adair was not injured in the crash but four passengers in the van were taken to Lakeland Regional Medical Center, in Lakeland, FL with minor injuries, the FHP said.
The crash remains under investigation.
Seat belts are designed to do only one thing in a crash - keep you in place. If you're wearing a seat belt during a crash, you don't bounce around inside the car as much or get thrown from the vehicle. The physics are simple. When you're in a car, you are moving at the speed of the car. When the car suddenly stops, you don't. Without a seat belt to hold you in place, your body continues moving until it hits something to stop it, such as a windshield, according to the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration.
For those between the ages of 8 to 15, seat belt use rose 1 percent to 83 percent and for those ages 16 to 24, use rose 3 percent to 80 percent.
For those between the ages of 25 to 69, seat belt use rose 1 percent to 84 percent.
The percentage rate dropped 4 percent to 80 percent for those older than 70.
That information from the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration may be why the rate of seat belt violations dropped in Florida and the Tampa Bay area from 2007 to 2008.
Statewide, the number fell from 17 per 100,000 people to 16 per 100,000 people who use their seat belts accordingly.
Rivas Law Group is a personal injury law firm located in Winter Haven, FL. If you or a loved one has been injured in an automobile accident, please call us at (877) 299-5539 to schedule your free consultation with Attorney Tania Rivas. There is no fee or cost owed unless you win.
