Typically, a lot of factors culminate in a car accident. However, some factors are more prevalent than others when considered as an overall factor in fatal auto collisions. One of those major factors is speed. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, speed was a factor in just over a quarter of all traffic fatalities in 2017. Additionally, 49% of drivers involved in fatal crashes where speed was a factor were not wearing safety belts. Men are far more likely to be speeding, with men aged 15-20 years old making up 31% of those involved in fatal crashes.
The Sun-Sentinel reports on a BSO deputy who was killed in a crash while heading to a call about a domestic disturbance.
30-year-old Broward County Sheriff’s deputy Benjamin “Benji” Nimtz had lights and sirens activated as he was driving to a domestic dispute at about 3 a.m. on Sunday. At the intersection of Military Trail and Southwest 10th Street in Deerfield Beach, a Toyota Tundra pickup truck collided with the deputy’s patrol vehicle.
Nimtz was declared dead a short time later at Broward Health North.
32-year-old Darran Johnson was behind the wheel of the pickup truck. He suffered from injuries that were not life-threatening.
Johnson has not yet been cited in the accident. Sheriff’s homicide traffic investigators are still studying the crash. However, detectives have stated that Johnson was speeding and that speed was a factor in the collision.
Toxicology test results on Johnson are still pending.
Nimtz formerly served with the U.S. Army in Afghanistan and Iraq. He had a final interview scheduled with the Fishers Police Department, a city northeast of Indianapolis, Indiana.
