Two Vehicles Collide in Santee

Modern vehicle safety design minimizes injuries

 
Lakeside Engine-1 and Medic-1 assisted Santee with a motor vehicle accident which occurred today just after 1:00 pm. The Lakeside units were dispatched along with Santee Rescue-5 to the intersection of Hartley Road and North Woodside Avenue. Engine-1 and Medic-1 arrived on scene to find two vehicles with significant front end damage and air bag deployments. The single occupants of both cars were standing on the roadside requiring no extrication and Rescue-5 was canceled. Of the two drivers, one was uninjured and the other suffered injuries requiring treatment and transportation to Sharp Memorial trauma center by Medic-1. The safety systems in both of the vehicles performed as they were designed to minimize injury. Front and side airbags deployed as well as impact absorbing crumple zones. Also known as a crush zone, crumple zones are areas of a vehicle that are designed to deform and crumple in a collision. This absorbs some of the energy of the impact, preventing it from being transmitted to the occupants. The safety systems worked together to prevent this collision from being a fatal accident.

Submitted By: Chuck Palmore, Lakeside Fire Captain