A fifth person has died from injuries he sustained in a crash at a Billerica, Massachusetts auto auction earlier this month.
Cause of Fatal Lynnway Auto Auction Crash Remains Under Investigation
According Reuters, 55-year-old Ruben Espaillat died Saturday, 10 days after being struck by a vehicle at the Lynnway Auto Auction.
Officials are still working to determine what caused a 2006 Jeep Grand Cherokee driven by an auction employee to suddenly accelerate and crash through a concrete wall into an auction warehouse; however, a preliminary investigation did indicate the crash was accidental.
The four other victims of the crash have been identified as Leezandra Aponte, 36; Elliott Rowlands Jr., 50; Brenda Lopez, 48; and Pantaleon Santos, 49.
National Car Crash Accident Statistics
The following information was provided by the National Highway traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA):
- 35,092 people were killed in traffic accidents in 2015. This marks a 7.2-percent increase from the 32,744 deaths reported in 2014.
- Of those killed in auto accidents in 2015:
- 22,441 were occupants of passenger vehicles
- 5,376 were pedestrians
- 4,976 were motorcyclists(operators and passengers)
- 818 were pedalcyclists
- 667 were occupants of large trucks
- 227 were listed as other or as unknown
- An additional 2,443,000 people were injured in auto accidents in 2015.
