At 10:13am on May 12th, a fatal crash occurred on Missouri 92, east of Highway A in Clay County. As a 2024 Chevrolet Malibu was traveling westbound, the driver veered into the eastbound lane and slammed a Nissan Sentra in a head-on collision. The driver of the Sentra, who was wearing her seatbelt, sustained serious injuries and was taken to a local hospital. The driver of the Malibu, who was not wearing a seatbelt, unfortunately lost her life due to injuries sustained in the crash.
Many activities that impair your driving ability are barred in Missouri, like texting/being on your phone, driving while impaired, and other behaviors or distractions. Driving inattentively and causing an accident can result in serious punishment for Careless and Imprudent Driving, and can lead to jail time and/or significant fines, on top of your license being suspended or revoked.
Missouri law also requires a minimum of $25,000 in liability limits. The law is in place to protect drivers against themselves and others in the event of an accident, and failing to adhere to this can make the process following a serious accident even more complicated. Luckily, all of the laws are to be followed as they were written and imposed to keep all drivers safe—including wearing your seatbelt, which is enforced. To avoid serving time in jail, substantial fines, and in an effort to avoid these egregious crashes and maintain everyone’s safety, we must all obey all of the laws all the time.