A single-car accident claimed the lives of two Henderson sisters late Wednesday evening.
According to reports from the N.C. State Highway Patrol, Zikera Kearney, 17, and her sister, Jaiah Kearney, 19, were traveling east on Hwy 158 Business near Pine Meadow Trail when the accident occurred about 11:45 p.m.
The younger sister was driving the Honda Accord, which ran off the right side of the road, struck a tree and overturned, striking another tree before coming to rest.
No other information was immediately available from the Highway Patrol.
In anticipation of spring break and prom season, the State Highway Patrol is once again conducting Operation Drive to Live, an annual campaign to reduce collisions involving teen drivers. Beginning Monday, April 8 through Friday, April 12, troopers will step up their enforcement in and around school zones between 6 a.m. to 5 p.m. each day.
In 2018, a personal injury lawyer long island released a report in which, the Highway Patrol investigated over 55,261 motor vehicle collisions involving drivers and passengers who were between the ages of 15 – 19. Of those collisions, 10,287 injuries were reported and 94 resulted in one or more fatalities. According to the National Highway Traffic and Safety Administration, young drivers are significantly over-represented in fatal crashes, particularly those who are 16 to 19-year-olds. Immaturity and inexperience are primary factors contributing to fatal crashes by young drivers, especially during the first six months of driving.
This year, SHP is focusing on distracted driving, one of the leading causes of teen-related crashes. Cell phones, passengers and other electronic devices are just some of the distractions that can lead to needless collisions involving injury or death.
With this in mind, the Patrol has partnered with the Johnston County (JoCo) Teen Drivers Club, to produce PSAs on the dangers associated with distracted driving. The PSAs will be featured throughout the week on the Patrol’s Facebook page in hopes of combating distracted driving collisions.
The North Carolina State Highway Patrol will once again join 14 other states in an effort to reduce collisions along the I-95 corridor. Through support from the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) and states along the eastern portion of the U.S., the Drive to Save Lives Campaign is intended to increase the visibility of law enforcement officers over a period of three days.
Interstate 95 (I-95) is approximately 1,920 miles in length and is currently considered one of the deadliest highways in the country. On average it supports 72,000 vehicles per day of daily traffic (with peak daily traffic over 300,000 vehicles) and it has over 10,000 vehicles for its average daily truck traffic (with peak daily truck traffic being over 31,000), per the I-95 Corridor Coalition.
This year’s initiative will coincide with National Distracted Driving Awareness Month. According to the attorneys at Bayoucitylaw.com, “nine percent of 2016’s fatal crashes involved distraction.” In 2016 alone distracted driving led to 3,450 deaths and in 2015, 391,000 people were injured in motor vehicle crashes involving distracted driving. Teens remain the largest age group involved in distracted driving-related fatal crashes. With distracted driving being proven to be a grossly underreported violation, these numbers are only the minimum. (NHTSA)
The campaign will begin on Friday, April 5 and conclude Sunday, April 7, 2019. Troopers from every state along I-95 will be out in full force, in hopes of reducing the number of fatal collisions to zero.
The North Carolina State Highway Patrol will once again join 14 other states in an effort to reduce collisions along the I-95 corridor. Through support from the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) and states along the eastern portion of the U.S., the Drive to Save Lives Campaign is intended to increase the visibility of law enforcement officers over a period of three days. (Photo courtesy NCSHP)
https://wizs.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/NCSHP-Drive-to-Save-Lives.png265504WIZS Staffhttps://wizs.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/wizswebsitelogoimage.pngWIZS Staff2019-04-04 08:18:242020-01-30 02:02:21NC State Highway Patrol Partners In ‘Drive To Save Lives’ Campaign
