Spring Hill Family OK After SUV Crashes Into Home

June 8, 2016

A father and a 1-year-old child were injured when a driver lost control of an SUV and crashed into a Spring Hill home Monday afternoon. The crash occurred on the 7400 block Pinehurst Drive.

The father was playing with his 1-year-old daughter in the family’s living room. His wife was in another part of the house.

Crews responded to the scene and arrived to find a single vehicle, a silver SUV, inside the front of the home. The vehicle came to a stop half way in the living room.

Both the father and his daughter sustained minor, non-life-threatening injuries.They were transported to Bayfront Hospital.

The man said his daughter was in her playpen at the time of impact, and was thrown across the room.

The driver of the vehicle, a 21-year-old woman, was not injured. She told responders she lost control of the vehicle and subsequently struck the home.

There was light rain in the area at the time of the crash.

Hernando County Fire Rescue would like to remind drivers to use extra care when it is raining and driving wet roads.

Driving on Hernando County roads is risky enough in good conditions. When the roads are slick from rain, this only increases the risk that your vehicle could be involved in a crash or other accident. Wet roads can cause you to lose control of your car and there is always the danger of hydroplaning.

Hydroplaning is when the water on the road surface in front of your vehicle gathers together more rapidly than your tires are able to push it away. When this happens, the pressure of all that water can elevate your car so that it slides and breaks the tires’ direct contact with the road surface, which can make you lose traction resulting in you losing control of your vehicle.

While we can all try to avoid hydroplaning, there may be times when your vehicle suffers from this. It is always good to know how to react when situations like these arise:

• Do not slam on your brakes. Try not use your brakes at all, as that may cause a sudden loss of control.
• Rather than braking, release the accelerator to allow the vehicle to gradually slow down on its own.
• Just try to keep the car going straight forward. You can make small steering corrections if you need to, but sharper steering wheel movements can cause your vehicle to swerve.
• As your vehicle slows, you should regain contact with the road. Once contact is made, you can safely ease on the brakes.

If you or someone you love has been injured in an accident with a driver who has lost control of their vehicle or hydroplaned, our Hernando County Auto Accident Lawyers at Whittel & Melton can help.

Call us today at 352-666-2121 or contact us online for a free consultation.