Figuring It Out: Getting to the Bottom of a Deadly Wreck

Authorities determined the identities of three people killed in a mysterious one-car crash on Interstate 75 North, but they still do not know the cause or even all the facts.

Police believe that 36-year-old Esu Manzano, 33-year-old Adam Bailey, and 24-year-old Cordel Fowler were all in an Audi A3 on the Buford-Spring connector when the driver, who has not been identified, apparently lost control of the vehicle; the Audi veered off the road and apparently slammed into a concrete embankment. After travelling some distance, the vehicle toppled over the side of the overpass, landing on its hood the interstate below. All three were killed instantly.

Atlanta Police Department Captain Terrell Griffin admitted that investigators “don’t know why or how” the car went over the side.

Advanced Evidence Collection Techniques

A surprisingly high number of events are like this one: sometimes there are no witnesses at all, while other times the parties and witnesses offer conflicting versions of events. While eyewitness testimony is still one of the fundamental building blocks of a personal injury case, many times, this testimony alone is not enough.

To fill in the evidentiary gaps, most all non-commercial vehicles have an Event Data Recorder, a device that is similar to the “black boxes” in airplanes. When they were first introduced in the 1970s, EDRs were only in a tiny percentage of vehicles and only recorded seatbelt use, airbag deployment, and perhaps another event or two.

But effective September 1, 2012, in the wake of the Toyota unintended acceleration debacle, the National Highway Transportation Safety Agency required that all new cars sold in the U.S. contain an EDR. At a minimum, these devices must capture and record:

  • Forward and lateral crash force;
  • Crash event duration;
  • Brake application and antilock brake activation;
  • Steering wheel angle;
  • Stability control engagement;
  • Indicated vehicle speed;
  • Accelerator position;
  • Engine RPM;
  • Vehicle roll angle;
  • Ignition events;
  • Front seat positions;
  • Occupant size;
  • Front seatbelt use;
  • Air bag deployment, speed, and faults for all air bags; and
  • Number of crashes.

Capability varies by model, but generally, an EDR records each metric for seven seconds on a rolling basis.

Legal Issues

While this critical data is readily available and relatively easy to download, acquiring it and using it in court is an entirely different matter.

Georgia does not have an EDR privacy law, which means that general principles of property ownership typically apply in these cases. So, only the owners have access to the information contained in these devices. As a result, an attorney must normally obtain a court order to access information on behalf of a third party, like the plaintiff in a car crash case.

Another issue involves preserving the evidence itself. Many times, insurance companies destroy totaled vehicles in the days after a car wreck; if that happens, the EDR is lost forever. To avoid this situation, an attorney sends a spoliation letter, which is also called a notice of claim for damages, to the insurance company and the vehicle owner.

This document puts the insurance company on notice that a claim for damages may be filed and that the EDR must be preserved. If the letter is ignored, the judge will impose stiff sanctions for noncompliance. The jury may also learn about the destruction of evidence, and rightfully conclude that the defendant had something to hide.

A successful claim for damages depends on the strength of the evidence. For a free consultation with a hard-working personal injury attorney in Fayetteville, contact our office. An attorney can arrange for victims to obtain ongoing medical treatment without cost, even if they have no money and no insurance. Call the Wade Law Firm today!