Three young people from Ray, North Dakota, were injured when their passenger car collided with a semi truck late last week. According to the Dakota Highway Patrol accident report, the collision occurred around 8 a.m. this past Wednesday. The scene of the accident was Eastbound on U.S. Highway 2, a few miles east of the city of Ray.
The 1997 Geo Prism was being driven by Teslin Lucero, 16 years old. Her passengers were two younger relatives, specifically 13-year-old Terin Lucero and 12-year-old Sebrien Lucero. The driver of the semi truck was 61-year-old Mark Frisinger of Richey, Montana. He was driving his 2005 Western Star semi eastbound on Highway 2, while Lucero was heading westbound.
Apparently, Lucero tried to make a left turn from the westbound lanes across the eastbound lanes. It is unclear if she had the right of way at the time, and the investigation of responsibility for the accident is ongoing. Frisinger’s truck struck and flattened the front of the Geo Prism, sending it into the south ditch of the highway, and injuring all three occupants of the smaller vehicle.
Lucero was taken to Mercy Medical Center nearby, while Terin and Sebrien were both transported to an alternative location, Tioga hospital. Mr. Frisinger was not apparently injured in the accident. The Geo prism was completely totalled by the impact. There is no word as yet on the condition of the three youths in the hospitals, but in this case no news may be good news, as it also likely means they have not suffered serious complications or died from their injuries.
The accident once again illustrates the potential severity of any collision with a semi truck. Tractor-trailers outmass smaller vehicles by an entire order of magnitude, and there is very little chance that a collision isn’t going to destroy a smaller car.
