If you survive a car accident with relatively minor injuries, you should count your blessings. Not all car accidents result in fatalities or serious injuries; statistically speaking, the odds of a fender bender are higher than the odds of a catastrophic accident. Head-on collisions, where the front of one car strikes the front of another, tend to be the worst.
A minor mistake can lead you to rear-end the car in front of you, back into the front fender of the car behind you, or sideswipe the car next to you as you attempt to change lanes, but a simple lack of driving experience is not enough to cause head-on collisions. Two cars do not collide head-on unless one of them is going in the wrong direction; the earliest traffic laws ever written were designed to avoid collisions like these.
One car only strikes another car head-on if the driver makes an egregious mistake, such as crossing the center lane. This usually only happens if the driver loses control of the car because of excessive speed or is unaware of his or her surroundings because of drug or alcohol intoxication. If you have suffered injuries in an accident where the at-fault driver crossed the center lane, contact a Santa Fe car accident lawyer.
At Fault Driver Crossed the Center Lane and Struck Vehicle Transporting Two Brothers
Jason and Nathan Abeyta did everything together. They both grew up in San Juan Pueblo and graduated from Santa Fe Indian School, as did their children. More importantly, both brothers worked at the school. Jason held multiple roles at the school, including coaching the boys’ basketball team, and Nathan was the assistant athletic director.
During spring break in 2025, both brothers were riding on NM 84 in Jason’s Jeep Wrangler when a Chevrolet Camaro crossed the center lane and struck the Wrangler head-on. Both brothers were pronounced dead at the scene, as was the driver of the Camaro. Jason Abeyta was 47, and Nathan Abeyta was 42. Isaac Madrid, the driver of the Camaro, was 19.
Seeking Justice After a Fatal Traffic Collision
The surviving relatives of people killed in traffic accidents have the right to seek compensation through wrongful death lawsuits and insurance claims. If the at-fault driver was killed in the accident or is serving a prison sentence for vehicular homicide, then a lawsuit against the at-fault driver or his or her estate is largely symbolic, and there is little money that the victims’ families can recover through such a lawsuit. The chances are greater of recovering compensation if the party responsible for the accident is a company that owns the vehicle that caused the accident or a bar that served alcohol to a customer who then drove drunk.
Contact Slate Stern About Personal Injury Lawsuits
Slate Stern is a personal injury lawyer who represents plaintiffs injured in car accidents. Contact Slate Stern in Santa Fe, New Mexico, or call (505)814-1517 to discuss your case.
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