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Another teen and the 20-year-old driver were critically injured in the Brock Road accident. Date published: 10/22/2007
A Riverbend High School junior who died in a car accident late Friday night was a passenger in her sister’s car when it crashed into two trees on Brock Road in Spotsylvania County. Sarah Berhmann, 16, died at the scene about 11:45 p.m. The other two people in the car were in stable, but critical, condition when they were flown to INOVA Fairfax Hospital, said 1st Sgt. Liz Scott of the Spotsylvania County Sheriff’s Office. Berhmann’s 20-year-old sister, who police would not name, was the driver of Toyota Corolla when it swerved off the road, hit a ditch, spun around and struck two trees, Scott said. She said skid marks were found on the road, but neither speed nor alcohol appeared to be a factor. Berhmann was in the back seat behind her sister and another unidentified 16-year-old male was in the front passenger seat, Scott said. No one was wearing a seatbelt. She said the other passenger was ejected from the vehicle when the car hit the first tree and the driver was pulled from the vehicle by a passerby. There were no witnesses to the accident and all of the information was gathered by the Spotsylvania Traffic Reconstruction Team, Scott said. No charges were listed as of Monday, but Scott said that may be because the accident is still under investigation. Representatives from Riverbend High School could not be immediately reached this afternoon. This is the third Riverbend student to be killed in a crash in a matter of months. Brandon Bates and Hunter Garner, both 16-year-old rising juniors at Riverbend High School, died as a result of a crash in June.
At a gathering to remember those students, Lowell Garner, Hunter's dad, made an emotional plea for students to take life seriously.
We can spend billions of dollars in IRAQ but our communites cant raise enough money for LIFESAVING guardrails amongst our community roads.
Realize that no one is perfect. You too have forgotten to put your belt on and then remembered in the first few moments of your trip.
Both girls always wore their seatbelts. The WERE NOT people who were trying to be rebels and not wear them.
They hadnt the moment to realize they forgot.
Take a look at yourself and think about it. Has there ever been a span of time when for some reason or another you hadnt put your belt on YET? Seatbelts help, but so does a road which isnt notorious for killing people.
It saddens me each time I see a story where a youngster is killed either by there own hand or others. This is truely a PREVENTABLE tragedy. When my oldest was 2 we started having trouble getting him in his carseat. I used to sing him a little tune "buckle uo, buckle up, buckle up for safety" He is now 14 and sings it to his 4 year old brother. This subtle reminder works and I now hear his friends say it. A simple tune, a simple action. Encourage, Inforce, reinforce.
I graduated from Riverbend in 2005. They tell you in driving classes to always wear a seatbelt. I'm sure all of you remember when you were a teen. I'm sure all of you were "rebels" when your parents weren't around. It gives you a sense of freedom. Unfortunately, some teens think losing the seatbelt is the best way to go. There's nothing anyone can do. Ultimately, the choice is the teens when parents or any other authority figure isn't around. Sadly, that's life. Nothing we can really change.
This hits home all to often, I see mothers,letting their children jump from one seat to another all of the time,More than 900 people are killed on Virginia’s highways each year. That’s an average of nearly 19 per wk or three per day.Lack of seatbelt use leads to more traffic fatalities than any other single driving behavior.
Crashes are the leading cause of death for Virginians under the age of 30. It is very sad I do agree that a seatbelt does not always save a life, but it's the law not a choice.
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