A tragic car accident that occurred last week injured two adults and killed one child. Just after 9:00 p.m., a Mazda Protégé was going east in the westbound lane of Highway 94 in El Paso County when it collided with a Toyota Highlander that was heading west.

The head-on collision seriously injured the 45-year-old driver of the Mazda and killed the child passenger in his car. The 41-year-old driver of the Toyota Highlander suffered minor injuries. The police are still investigating the cause of this wrong-way crash to determine what caused the driver of the Protégé to go the wrong way on the freeway.

Head-On Collisions in Colorado

Just about every collision caused by a wrong-way driver is a head-on crash, which usually causes serious injuries or death for drivers or passengers. This is because the two cars crash into each other at a high rate of speed, as you have to add up the speed of both cars to figure out the force of the impact. In this case, if both cars were going about 65 miles per hour, the impact of the collision was 130 miles per hour.

So it's no wonder this crash was so tragic. And of course, the fact that a child was killed makes this Colorado head-on collision even more devastating. The police will likely continue to investigate the cause of the crash, as there are a few common reasons behind collisions like this.

The most common causes of auto accidents of this kind include:

• Impaired driving
• Drowsy driving
• Distracted driving
• Medical emergency

As the police work to narrow down the cause of a crash like this, the injured parties can decide how to proceed as they begin the process of recovering after the accident. After all, the driver who caused the wrong-way accident will typically be held liable for the expenses of the people who were injured in the crash. Some of the most common damages the liable driver has to cover in Colorado auto accidents may include:

• Emergency medical treatment
• Physical therapy
• Lost wages
• Property damage
• Pain and suffering

If you were injured in a head-on collision with someone who was driving the wrong way on a Colorado road or highway, you shouldn't have to pay for the related costs of the accident. Instead, the driver who caused the crash will have to pay, typically through his or her auto insurance policy. Of course, most insurance companies—and at-fault drivers—don't make this process easy on victims. They might deny the facts of the crash, refuse to take responsibility, or offer a much smaller amount than the victim deserves.

This is why it's best to talk to a Colorado personal injury attorney after you've been hurt in a wrong-way collision. For the best chance of being able to pay for the costs of the car accident, you need a legal representative on your side the whole way. So contact a local lawyer and set up an initial consultation today to start discussing the details of your case.