The details are beginning to emerge of a horrible car accident in Union City that left three young men dead in late September, putting their families into grief and making their high school community react with dismay.
Driver Loses Control, Slides Into Oncoming Traffic
The deadly crash happened just after 8 pm on Sunday, September 25, 2016, near the intersection of Buffington and Royal South Parkway, in Union City, Georgia.
Jerrett Mumford, 18, and Jaylen Mumford, 16, were riding in a Toyota 4Runner SUV driven by their close friend, Ibrahim Sankoh, who was also 18 years old. They had just left the homecoming celebration at Banneker High School, where they had all gone to school. Jerrett, a first year student at Alabama State University who had been named “Mr. Banneker” the year before, had returned to Banneker High School to crown the new “Mr. Banneker.” Jaylen and Ibrahim had joined him to enjoy the event and be with friends.
Leaving the festivities in Sankoh’s car, the three were travelling eastbound on Royal South Parkway when Sankoh lost control of the vehicle, sliding into the oncoming lane of westbound traffic. At the same time Rahj Rowe was driving his Nissan Altima along the same route. Rowe saw the car skidding into his lane in the darkness, but was unable to avoid the collision.
Sankoh’s car flipped in the collision and came to a rest on its roof. All three of the teens were pronounced dead at the scene of the crash. The Fulton County Medical Examiner’s Office determined that all three of the teens in the car died from blunt force trauma from the accident.
Police are still investigating the accident to determine exactly what went wrong, but have ruled alcohol out as being a factor.
Young Drivers More Likely to be Involved in Crashes
Unfortunately, young men like those who lost their lives in this tragic accident in Union City are statistically more likely to be involved in fatal accidents than other drivers.
According to the Centers for Disease Control, young people between the ages of 15 and 24 make up only 14 percent of the population in the United States, but account for 30 percent of the total costs of car accidents among men, and 28 percent of the total costs of crashes among women. Per mile driven, teen drivers are nearly three times more likely to be involved in a fatal car accident than drivers older than 20.
Cobb County Car Accident Attorney Joel Williams
It is a sad fact that young drivers are so prone to fatal car crashes. With so much of their lives ahead of them, it is painful to hear that a teenager was killed in a wreck or injured another person on the road.
In either case, having a car accident lawyer by your side can make a huge difference in whether you get the compensation that you deserve to recover from the crash. Contact Williams Elleby Howard & Easter for legal representation if you have been impacted by a crash in Georgia.
