John Davidson Dies in Saline County, AR, Single-Vehicle Accident
Saline County, AR -- February 20, 2017, John Edward Davidson was killed following an accident in which his vehicle crashed off the highway.
The Arkansas State Police reported that the accident happened just after 2:00 a.m. near the intersection of US Highway 70 and Narrows Road.
According to the preliminary report, 41-year-old Davidson was driving a GMC pickup along Highway 70 in the westbound lanes. For reasons that aren't clear, the vehicle lost control and drifted over the center traffic line. It then ran off the side of the road and crashed into a group of trees.
Davidson sustained fatal injuries in the collision, and he was pronounced dead at the scene.
At this time, authorities have not suggested what factors may be involved. They say investigations are ongoing.
Map of the Area
Commentary
Whenever a fact pattern looks like this--early morning, rural highway, single-vehicle accident--the immediate assumptions tend to be that the driver was speeding, drunk, or they fell asleep at the wheel. The reason these tend to jump to mind is because, frankly, they're very common. However, a factor being common does not mean that it applies to all cases.
The simple fact here is that we don't know what happened in this accident, and it's unfair to behave as though we do. These early police reports are often missing crucial details, and I've seen a lot of them that make mistakes as well. Some of them are as simple as, "Vehicle 1 hit Vehicle 2." With a report as bare bones as that, something as seemingly minor as a typo could change the entire story.
After any kind of accident, the best course of action is to have the evidence examined by an independent car accident specialist. 3rd party investigators have an advantage over police investigators in that their sole purpose is to determine exactly what happened in the accident. They do not just leave their report at a basic fact pattern or guess at what the most likely scenario is. Any and all factors that could have happened--however unlikely it may be--is thoroughly considered before either being confirmed or ruled out.
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Assumptions are easy to make, especially when there are a lot of missing pieces. However, when someone is hurt or killed in an accident, making baseless claims only serves to further harm those affected by the accident. The only way to work toward a resolution after an accident is to have all of the information available. An independent investigation is a valuable resource for achieving this.
--Grossman Law Offices
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