As bad as the crash was for Tiger Woods, it was eye-opening for drivers everywhere.
Early Monday morning in Belmont County, a similar rollover crash occurred.
Lt. Maurice Waddell, post commander of the Ohio State Highway Patrol in Belmont County, says he’s heard people claim they don’t need a safety belt to hold them—that in case of a crash, they’ll grip the wheel tightly.
“The centrifugal force of a vehicle rolling over, nobody is going to be able to hold on or prevent themselves from being ejected,” Waddell said.
He says Tiger Woods’ crash has taught us something.
“He did receive injuries, but I’m sure the safety belt significantly reduced the seriousness of those injuries,” he noted.
Early Monday morning, a westbound driver on I-70 in Belmont County had a similar crash.
“He went off the right side of the road, struck an embankment and several small trees, and the vehicle rolled over,” Lt. Waddell explained.
That car is mangled beyond recognition.
The driver, from Bellaire, was not buckled up but amazingly was not ejected.
Troopers say he was lucky, although many others have not been.
“I’ve known many people throughout my career who have been ejected from crashes,” Waddell noted. “There have been some that have survived those injuries. But more times than not, when a person’s ejected, it’s going to be a fatality.”
