Wrong Way Collision Outside Hospital Parking Lot
The campuses of hospitals are endlessly confusing. Nurses and lab technicians who have worked at the hospital for decades might tell a new coworker about a shortcut, or a secluded spot in which to scroll through one’s phone on one’s lunch break, that they only discovered recently. Doctors who make rounds at several hospitals think of them as the confusing hospital, the more confusing hospital, and the most confusing hospital. Medical residents have nightmares about being late for their shifts because of finicky payment machines in parking garages, or because they had to sprint half a mile to the correct department after parking in the wrong garage, years after graduating from residency. The only thing worse than driving on the grounds of a hospital is driving from a sprawling hospital parking lot onto a major road. New Jersey witnessed the worst-case scenario as far as driving near hospitals when two vehicles collided head on outside the entrance to Ocean University Medical Center, and one of the drivers died. If you have suffered injuries in a car accident on hospital grounds or near the entrance to a hospital, contact a South Jersey auto accident lawyer.
Driving Struck Oncoming Car After Turning Out of Ocean University Medical Center Parking Lot
The Route 88 exit from Ocean University Medical Center is designed so that cars can turn left and drive west or turn right and drive east. On December 29, during the time that would be afternoon rush hour if it were not the holidays, Cathe Schaefer of Newark turned left but drove east in the westbound lanes. A short distance from the entrance to the hospital complex, Schaefer’s 2021 Kia Sportage collided head on with a 2005 Toyota Corolla. Neither vehicle overturned, although the collision caused both cars to spin. The Kia came to a stop when it hit the curb, while the Corolla slowed down on its own, ending up on the shoulder of the westbound lanes. Rescuers had to extricate both drivers from the cars and transport them to the hospital. Schaefer survived, but the driver of the Corolla died of his injuries shortly after arriving at the hospital. News sources identified him as Joao Luiz of Brick Township. He was 51 years old.
The accident is still under investigation. It does not appear that either of the drivers was under the influence of alcohol or drugs. Since Schaefer was driving the wrong direction, insurance companies will likely attribute most of the fault for the accident to her. If she had recently been discharged from the hospital or a doctor’s appointment and a doctor had erred in medically clearing her to drive, the doctor or hospital could bear some of the responsibility.
Contact Monaco Law About Car Accidents
Contact Monaco Law PC in Marlton, New Jersey to discuss your accident case. Joseph Monaco is a New Jersey and Pennsylvania personal injury lawyer serving Atlantic County, Burlington County, Cape May County, Camden County, Cumberland County, Gloucester County, Mercer County, Middlesex County, Ocean County, Salem County and all of South Jersey.
Source:
patch.com/new-jersey/brick/man-killed-woman-injured-wrong-way-crash-route-88-brick
