On September 12th, Lovisa Arnesson-Cronhamre was jogging at East Park, Penn State University, when a 2024 BMW m3 crashed into her. The impact of the car caused her to fly 80 feet away from the initial crash point. Lovisa was taken to Mount Nittany Medical Center and UMPC Altoona, where she suffered a brain bleed, broken neck, and broken foot. Lovisa sadly passed away in the hospital at 2 a.m. Wednesday.
The person behind the wheel was 20-year-old Ahrmed M. Alqubaisi. According to state college police, Ahrmad was driving way past the speed limit, and at around 8 p.m., he lost control of his vehicle. The police do not suspect he was under the influence during the time of the crash. Ahmed is currently arrested for Vehicular homicide.
The tragic story of Lovisa Arnesson-Cronhamre brought to light disturbing facts about driving a vehicle. The NHTSA reported that an average of 99 fatalities happen daily due to car accidents, and 7,507 people are injured. How are vehicles allowed to cause so many deaths, and yet nothing seems to change? We use vehicles daily, and they have become such a milestone in our lives. How well are these vehicles regulated?
The Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards or FMVSS is a United States federal vehicle agency that creates regulations on vehicles. They make crash avoidance regulations such as FMVSS No. 124 Accelerator Control Systems regulation, FMVSS No. 125 Warning Devices, and FMVSS No. 127: Speedometers and odometers. Knowing that these regulations exist, why do car accidents happen so frequently? If the vehicles are not to blame, they must be the people behind them.
The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation has created regulations individuals should follow when they get behind the wheel, such as “Allow more following distance between vehicles,” ‘Signal your intentions,” and “Follow speed limits.” All these regulations are easy to find online and aren’t hard to understand; if an individual can obtain a driver’s license, they should be able to follow rules that will help keep everyone and themselves safe. There has to be another reason as to why car crashes seem to be so common.
Outside factors contribute to the high statistics of vehicle-related deaths. One of the significant factors is distracted driving, i.e., being on one’s phone, talking, and even eating. It is estimated that around 3,00 deaths are caused by distracted driving each year. In our current world, our minds are more addicting than ever, but it does not have to be why someone passes away from them. Due to this high number of deaths caused by deaths, more regulations must be placed to prevent these deaths. This might mean fining people who are distracted drivers and educating children about these dangers at a young age to prevent these accidents from happening.
Tragedies such as the one that happened to Lovisa Arnesson-Cronhamre must be stopped. We should not have to worry every time we walk out the door that we might get injured due to a vehicle. Informing yourself and others about the preventable actions that can be taken before driving a car will allow for a safer world for everyone.
sources:
Rushton, G. (2023, September 14). Penn State student charged with vehicular homicide in Fatal Park Avenue crash. StateCollege.com. https://www.statecollege.com/articles/local-news/police-crime/penn-state-student-charged-with-vehicular-homicide-in-fatal-park-avenue-crash/
Rushton, G. (2023b, September 28). Bail set at $3 million for Penn State student accused of vehicular homicide. StateCollege.com. https://www.statecollege.com/articles/local-news/police-crime/bail-set-at-3-million-for-penn-state-student-accused-of-vehicular-homicide/
PennDOT – Non-Commercial Learner’s permit application. (n.d.). https://www.dot.state.pa.us/public/dvspubsforms/bdl/bdl%20form/dl-180.pdf
