In Wake of Tragedy, Patrol Stresses Safety on Roadway

According to the Florida Highway Patrol report, Darrian George was driving south on State Road 93 in Marion County around 3 in the morning when he drifted across the lanes and into a grassy median.

The Norcross High School student did what many drivers do as a reaction: He braked and tried to get back onto the road, taking what patrol officers called “evasive action.” It is that action that so often ends with tragedy, according to Lieutenant Patrick V. Riordan, who works in the office of the Florida Highway Patrol in the area.

The front tires meet resistance with the roadway. The back tires have the least resistance so the driver loses of control, often rolling the car on top of itself, says Riordan. Anything in the vehicle flies at the speed the car was moving, he said, which is as much as 70 or 80 miles per hour on the highway.  

Only one of the passengers in the SUV that George was driving was wearing his seatbelt, and five people were ejected from the vehicle as a result of the crash.

“There was certainly a correlation between seat belt use and injury,” he said.

“There is a lot of sorrow and regret,” said Riordan, “But where do we go from here?” He believes that we should take a moment to focus on safety: The life-saving importance of wearing a seatbelt and also knowing what to do if you swerve off the roadway. 

He points to one resource from AAA called “Over the Edge and Back," which he says is a good read for those who have driven for 60 years or just a few.  Pavement drop-off crashes are twice as likely to be fatal as other crashes on similar roads, according to the materials.

The pamphlet says that drivers should never try to reenter the roadway if their tires fall off. “Steer straight and slow down gradually. If it’s safe, drive all the way onto the shoulder,” the AAA materials state.  

The materials recommend continuing to look and steer straight ahead, easing off the gas instead of hitting the breaks. The recommendation is to “straddle” the edge of the roadway, with two tires on one side and two on the other. After stopping and collecting yourself, the materials say to slowly reentering with your tires turned a quarter of the way.