A 70-year-old Disney, Oklahoma woman died Thursday afternoon after the vehicle she was riding in left State Highway 28, tore through a fence and struck a concrete wall in Delaware County. The Oklahoma Highway Patrol says the driver suffered a suspected medical episode just before the crash, sending the car off the road to the right.
Driver Suffered Medical Episode, Troopers Say
Lavonne Fraser was identified as the passenger killed in the crash, according to KTUL. The driver was also injured in the crash, though further details on that person's condition have not been released. Oklahoma Highway Patrol investigators believe Fraser had her legs resting on the dashboard at the moment of impact, a detail the agency flagged as it pieced together how the crash caused her fatal injuries.
The crash unfolded on State Highway 28 in Delaware County, near Disney.
Why Dashboard Seating Poses Deadly Risk
The posture noted by investigators points to a well-documented hazard in frontal crashes. Safety guidance highlighted in passenger safety research shared on Instagram warns that resting feet or legs on a vehicle dashboard exposes passengers to severe or fatal injuries, since frontal airbags can deploy at speeds up to 200 mph in less than 50 milliseconds. That force, the same research notes, can violently drive a passenger's knees into their chest and torso.
Dashboard positioning during airbag inflation can cause serious injuries, including hip dislocations and leg fractures. Airbag deployment thresholds differ for belted and unbelted occupants.
Oklahoma Traffic Fatality Rates
A separate TRIP study, reported by KOKH FOX 25, ranks Oklahoma among the top 10 states for traffic fatality rates per 100 million vehicle miles traveled.
Airbag systems use belt sensors and deployment algorithms. No additional details on the driver's identity, the vehicle's speed before leaving the roadway, or the results of any formal crash reconstruction have been released.
