On the night of February 1, 2002, a southbound Ford Windstar Minivan collided head-on and killed twenty-year-old Dawn Richardson, when her northbound Ford Explorer veered across the Beltway outside Washington D.C., and collided head on with a southbound Ford Windstar Minivan. Richardson was following her boyfriend and traveling nearly twenty miles-per-hour over the speed limit in a sport utility vehicle known for being top-heavy and particularly unwieldy in precarious situations. The gusting winter wind off of the Atlantic coast caught Richardson, a driver with less than fifty miles of driving experience, at a vulnerable moment because she was not only speeding but also talking on her cellular phone. The unbridled Explorer careened through two guard rails, took flight, and collided head-on with the four passenger mini-van, killing everyone in both cars. . . .
