As most Pittsburgh area residents are likely aware, two of the factors most commonly pointed to as the cause of car accidents are speed and drunk driving. Accordingly, it is likely that few are surprised to hear that they both appear to have played a role in a motor vehicle accident last weekend. The accident resulted in four men being injured.

According to the state police, the four men were occupants of a pickup truck that was travelling down Mars Hill Road around 1:00 a.m. As the vehicle drove down the road, something caused it to leave the road. When it did so, it first hit one tree, before spinning around and colliding with another tree.

One man was ejected through the back window. Another was found hanging out of one of the doors. The other two occupants had to be cut out by rescue workers. All four of the men were hurt and transported to area hospitals via a helicopter. None of them had seat belts on at the time of the crash.

The men involved in the accident are all from out of state and work together at a Marcellus shale drilling site in the Pittsburgh area.

As this incident illustrates, speeding vehicles driven by individuals who are impaired pose a hazard not only to other vehicles on the road, but to the occupants of the speeding auto as well. While the outcome of this accident was serious, it could have been much worse and resulted in the death of one or more of the men.

Source: Tribune-Review, "Speed, alcohol blamed in Sewickley Township crash," Joe Napsha, May 30, 2012