The Missouri Highway Patrol warns drivers to remain in their vehicles if their car breaks down instead of getting out and standing on the side of the road to wait for assistance. According to the Highway Patrol, individuals who choose to exit their vehicles once they have crashed are more likely to be involved in a pedestrian accident than those who remain inside their car until help arrives.

Currently in 2012, there have been 1,470 pedestrian accidents in the state of Missouri. Of those traffic-related accidents, 128 of them ended with fatalities. One recent pedestrian accident in Missouri involved a Lee’s Summit woman. The 33-year-old woman was heading southbound on U.S. 71 when her vehicle left the highway, and struck a concrete barrier in the median of the highway. Instead of waiting in her vehicle for help to arrive, the woman exited her car to inspect it for damages.

Once the woman left her stranded vehicle, she was struck by three separate SUVs on the same highway. She was standing close to the left lane on the southbound side of U.S. 71 when a Ford Escape ran into her. Before she was able to compose herself, two more vehicles ran over the woman. She was pronounced dead at the scene of the accident.

A spokesperson for the Missouri Highway Patrol stated that it is extremely important to wait inside a vehicle due to the fact that after an accident, other drivers will be looking “for wreckage, not for people.” If a driver is in a situation to move their vehicle off of the highway or roadway completely, then they should do so, but otherwise they should stay inside their car and call 911 or *55 to contact the Highway Patrol.