Fatal Pittsylvania crash offers reminder about the danger of over-correcting

DANVILLE (WSLS 10) - "If they run off the right side of the roadway, they tend to jerk the wheel, slam on the brake," said Virginia State Police Trooper Eddie Dillard, explaining over-correcting.

That's the common mistake people make after realizing they've run off the road.

On Friday, 19-year-old Sierra Lane ran off Route 609, over-corrected, hit an embankment and flipped upside down, according to state police.

She later died at a hospital.

"If you run off the roadway, just ease off the gas, tap the brake, and ease the car back on the roadway," said Dillard.

But, that's easier said than done as panicking and jerking the wheel when you run off the road is a natural reaction.

Dillard and other troopers work with students at the county's high schools through a state program called Youth of Virginia Speak Out About Traffic Safety.

The program covers various aspects of safe driving, including over-correcting.

"We try to get the kids to get involved with safe driving. For an example, we did a scan-ed program a few months back at Gretna High School and we just talked about what happened during a crash," Dillard explained.

When it comes to teaching teens how to drive, Safe Driving School of The Piedmont instructor Ricky Fugate tries to give them firsthand experience over-correcting so they understand what it is and why it's so dangerous.

"I'll put my hand on the wheel and I'll ask them to remove their foot from the accelerator and take the front wheel off the road and just let them get a feel of it," Fugate said.

Still though, he said it's not enough and people will still likely jerk the wheel and slam on the brakes when they run off the road.

As of Wednesday, Friday's crash remained under investigation.