Sometimes we get a stark reminder of what can happen when no one is wearing a seatbelt during a car crash. In the early morning on July 18, one driver and two children were launched from a vehicle after it slipped past the road and landed in a ditch in Autauga County, according to the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency. Unfortunately, the driver passed away in the incident and the two children were taken to the hospital.
Female driver passed away in the crash
A 35-year-old female driver, Krisi Matthews, along with two unnamed children, a 7-year-old and a 11-year-old, were involved in an single-vehicle crash at around 2:32 am on Saturday, as reported by WSFA, CBS 42, and the Montgomery Advertiser,
Capt. Jeremy Burkett, a spokesman for the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency, said the crash occurred on the Alabama 14 or AL-14, a major east-west state highway, at around the 148-mile marker, which is around two miles from Prattville.
Matthews, a resident of Autaugaville, was driving a 2001 Jeep Grand Cherokee when it left the roadway, hit a culvert, went airborne, and landed in a ditch. It is unknown what caused the driver to veer off the highway. All three passengers were ejected during the crash and were not wearing their seatbelts during the time of the incident.
The driver was pronounced dead at the scene, while the two children suffered several injuries and were taken to a local hospital. It is unclear what the extent of these injuries are and what the relationship is between Matthews and the two children.
The investigation into the incident is still ongoing.
On July 11, another 44-year-old driver in New Hampshire who was not wearing his seatbelt either was ejected from his vehicle through the sunroof in a crash that made his car tumbled several times on the highway. Police say that he “may have been distracted by an unrestrained dog.”
