CLIFTON PARK, NY — Kyle Zimmerman was identified as the man that died in a single-vehicle accident that happened in Clifton Park, New York on Saturday, January 17th, 2015. News reports said that the accident took place at about 10:50 Saturday night.
33-year-old Kyle Zimmerman was killed when the car he was driving crashed at the intersection of Grooms Road and Vischer Ferry Road. Authorities think that the car drove off the road before it collided with a nearby utility pole just off the pavement.
Zimmerman was pronounced dead on the scene after the accident. He is believed to have been alone in the vehicle, and no other injuries were mentioned in news reports.
New York State Police are currently investigating the accident.
Scene of the Accident
View from the Road
Commentary:
The news mentioned that the cause of death was smoke inhalation or carbon monoxide inhalation. If true, then something could be very, very wrong with this vehicle. Modern cars have very high safety standards, and are built with a high degree of crash survivability in mind when they roll off the assembly line. If an impact with a utility pole released toxic gases into the passenger cabin of the vehicle, I think it may be safe to assume that some, or many of these safety features failed. If this turns out to be the case, then the manufacturer of the vehicle could bear a portion of the liability in this accident. A trained investigator could find out where the gases leaked into the cabin, and determine why, and more importantly, who needs to be held responsible.
