Amelia A. Pridemore
The Register-Herald Reporter
May 16, 2007 10:49 pm
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State Police say three people inside two vehicles that overturned on the West Virginia Turnpike avoided serious injury likely because they were all wearing seatbelts.
Around 1 p.m. Tuesday, Laura Terra Franca, 21, of Oak Hill, was driving north, about 7 miles south of Beckley, in a 1999 Subaru Legacy when she attempted to get into the left lane to pass a slow-moving tractor-trailer, Cpl. T.D. Holster said. That was when she realized another vehicle in that lane was in her blind spot.
Franca swerved to avoid a collision and lost control of her car, Holster said. She struck a guardrail on the right side, re-entered the roadway and struck a 2005 Cadillac Sedan DeVille driven by Victor Albainy, 69, of Ocala, Fla. Franca’s car rolled, landing upside down in the left lane.
Albainy’s car went off the right side of the roadway, crashed through a guardrail and rolled over an embankment. The vehicle landed upside down on a two-lane county route near the interstate.
Franca was taken to Raleigh General Hospital for minor injuries, Holster said. Albainy and his wife, Ruth, 65, received minor scrapes, bruises and abrasions.
Holster said seatbelt use probably prevented more serious injuries.
“Seatbelts save lives,” he said.
Holster said Franca was cited for having expired insurance and registration.
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