Sandpoint, ID — Two people died in a three-vehicle accident in Sandpoint, Idaho, on Friday, July 24, 2015. The accident took place on Highway 95, near mile marker 482, around 12:30 in the afternoon.
Police have identified 27-year-old Yun Zhou as the driver of a Ford Focus who attempted to pass the tanker truck traveling ahead of him by driving into the oncoming lane. Once there, he crashed into a dump truck being driven by 39-year-old Harley Lippert.
Emergency workers transported Zhou to Kootenai Health for her injuries. She was traveling with two passengers at the time of the crash. One, 50-year-olod Ling Yuan, was also taken to Kootenai and pronounced dead. The other, 52-year-old Jianxue Zhou, was taken to Sacred Heart and died a short time later.
Lippert was not injured in the accident.
The crash is still being investigated.
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Scene of the Accident
Commentary
Anytime you see a traffic accident, the focus is typically on the those in the vehicle that was hit. That’s as it should be. If those people were hurt, then they should be cared for and given attention to. However, we can’t forget the passengers that are often inside the vehicle that caused the accident. These people are just as big of victims as anyone in any other vehicle. Drivers owe their passengers a certain duty of care while out on the road. If a driver acts recklessly and his passengers are injured because of it, then that duty has been breached, and the driver can be held liable for it.
— Grossman Law Offices
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