Plano, Texas — Four year old Ebony Ross has died following a Saturday afternoon (01/11/2014) car accident on Central Expressway near Legacy Drive.
According to Plano police, the accident (which occurred in the northbound lanes of US-75 near the Legacy Drive exit) was caused by the driver of a blue 4-door Dodge pickup truck. The pickup was travelling northbound in the left lane when “traffic suddenly stopped,” causing the driver of the pickup to swerve into the HOV lane in order to avoid rear-ending the vehicle ahead. Unfortunately, the pickup instead slammed into a maroon Chevrolet sedan driven by Jamaika Ross. Her car was pushed along the concrete barrier before striking a light pole and finally coming to a rest on its roof.
Jamaika Ross credits a good samaritan, Amber Meier, with helping her family escape the vehicle as well as providing comfort. All four occupants of the sedan (her 9-year-old son Kelvin and 4-year-old daughters Ebony & Kaliyah) were taken to the hospital with injuries. Unfortunately, 4-year-old Ebony did not survive. None of the 5 occupants of the pickup truck were injured.
Police say that the people in both cars were wearing seat belts, and that alcohol was not a factor in the accident. Plano police say they do plan on referring the case to a grand jury which will decide if criminal charges will be made against the driver of the pickup.
To me, there are a lot of questions here. The police say that the pickup driver swerved to avoid traffic that “suddenly stopped.” I’m thinking it would have been better to explain that the driver was following too closely for conditions, and thus, caused this fatal accident. I would also be interested in hearing how witnesses describe the collision. Was the pickup driver driving recklessly? Were they trying to beat traffic at the time, or was it honestly a last-second evasive maneuver? I admit that I was not there and do not know all the facts of the case, but slowing highway traffic is not something that happens “suddenly.” At least not suddenly enough that you wouldn’t be able to see it coming and adjust your speed accordingly. It seems to be a clear cut example of a driver following too closely – with the results being tragic.
Police say the investigation is continuing, and I’d like to see where it goes.
