If you are traveling on a road or highway and you notice that one of your tires is low on air, you should grip the steering wheel, check traffic, and gradually pull over to the side of the roadway when it is safe to do so. Don’t cause the vehicle to make any sharp movements – because that could result in an auto accident.

That’s apparently what happened in a rollover crash on I-15 northwest of Las Vegas last week. On Friday near Moapa, a 40-year old woman was driving a 2003 Chevrolet Blazer when one of the sport utility vehicle’s rear tires began to lose air. As the SUV drifted toward the right shoulder, the driver sharply overcorrected to the left, causing the Blazer to begin rolling. A 16-year old girl was ejected from the SUV and pronounced dead at the scene. A total of six other people – both adults and children – were taken to the hospital with injuries.

Though the news articles don’t say so, it appears likely that the girl who died was the daughter of the driver, because they both have the same surname. Also among the injured was a 19-year old woman with the same surname, a 37-year old woman with a different last name, and three unidentified children: a 16-year old girl, a 7-year old girl, and a 9-year old boy.

If the driver did indeed lose her daughter, it is a tragedy beyond description. But sadly, the 40-year old woman is still responsible for the auto accident as well as the injuries to her other passengers. This means that the 37-year old woman (and perhaps the parents of the other kids, if they are not related) could file personal injury lawsuits against the driver.