Barbara Abele Killed in Truck Accident in Bandera County, TX
Bandera County, TX — September 21, 2023, Barbara Abele was killed following a multi-vehicle accident at around 8:46 p.m. along Highway 16.
Authorities released preliminary statements on the fatal wreck, which they say took place near mile marker 558 on Highway 16.
According to current information, 78-year-old Barbara Abele was said to be in an Infiniti SUV traveling southbound along the highway. That vehicle reportedly went into the northbound lane where it crashed with an oncoming Ford F-250 hauling a trailer. This left Abele's vehicle sideways across the northbound lane where it was then hit by a motorcycle.
Due to the crash, authorities say that Abele was partially ejected from the vehicle, and she sustained fatal injuries. That stands out to me as it seems authorities haven't been able to determine whether or not the victim had their seatbelt on. With that kind of uncertainty, I have to wonder if its a sign that authorities may be missing something important.
Let me give an example from a wrongful death case I handled a while back in which a crash caused the driver to be ejected from their vehicle. Authorities said the victim wasn't wearing their seatbelt, but it turned out the only reason they said that was because they figured that was the only way the driver could have been ejected. Well, when we had an engineer look more closely into the accident, it turned out they were completely wrong. During the rollover, the seatbelt pretensioner failed due to a defect, causing it to loosen and allow the victim to be thrown from the vehicle.
It always troubles me thinking about how things would have ended up had that person's family not caught on to how odd it was that their loved one, who absolutely always wore their seatbelt, was being accused of not doing so. That's why I can't help wondering here whether or not the uncertainty from authorities is actually a sign they don't have the resources to get a conclusive answer.
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