Three Celebrities Die from a Weather Related Personal Injury within the Same Week
Two members from Ladies’ Code and Molly Glynn died from weather related personal injury in the same week. So, it’s hard to believe that some people enjoy inclement weather. But, in fact, they do. After all, it’s an excuse to curl up by the fire and read a book, or watch a movie. My personal favorite is when the power goes out: I light a box-full of candles while imagining that this must be what it was like to live during the same time as the historic greats. While volatile weather can be thrilling and fun, it is important to remember that we don’t experience thrill without some level of fear being present. And fear is present for a reason: weather can not just cause injury, but it can kill, it has killed, and it will continue to kill. This past week there have been three women who have experienced the dark side of weather and sustained a weather related personal injury.
Korean pop group “Ladies Code” has been in the Korean pop music scene for two years, but this year may be their last. The five young women in the group were in a serious car accident in South Korea that killed two of its once sparkling members. Go Eun-Bi was 22 years old and died immediately after impact. Kwon Ri-sae was 23 years old and died four days after the crash from sustained injuries.
The women were being driven in a van on a highway during a rain storm when their driver crashed the van into a guard rail. Reports allege the cause of the accident could have been that the driver may have lost control of the van when speeding to stay within the girl group’s tight schedule, thereby caused the two young ladies to suffer a weather related personal injury that turned out to be fatal.
The other passengers of the car varied with their injuries: a third member of Ladies Code suffered a fractured jaw, while the driver and the remaining two members of the girl group sustained only minor injuries. Although the third member with the broken jaw is okay, the broken jaw will likely inhibit her from speaking normally until the jaw heals, let alone sing. The police plan to call in the driver for more questioning.
Another celebrity, Chicago Fire actress Molly Glynn, died from a weather related personal injury on the same week as the two young girls in Ladies Code. According to Gawker, Molly Glynn was also a “veteran” stage actress. On a Friday afternoon in Chicago, Molly Glynn went on a bike ride with her husband of about 4 years, Joe Foust. The two frequently rode bikes together. The Chicago Tribune reports that they were riding on their favorite bike trail (the North Branch) and were about 25 miles into the ride when the weather suddenly changed around 3 p.m. Glynn’s husband, Foust, described the sudden weather change as “harsh and quick.” Glynn was riding behind her husband when the weather changed for the worse. She yelled to her husband that they should take cover, but it was too late: in a fraction of a second, Foust heard a loud crack and, through his rear-view mirror, watched with horror as a tree uprooted from the storm and fell down on his wife. A branch hit his back, thereby giving him a minor weather related personal injury, but was otherwise not injured. Unfortunately, Molly Glynn was not so lucky. She sustained fatal injuries as a result of the freak bike accident, despite the fact that she was wearing a helmet. Glynn, 46, died the following day from the weather related personal injury she sustained.
Many are devastated by the loss of the vivacious actress. Foust was heartbroken, writing in a Facebook message, “I couldn’t save her. I couldn’t save her. She’s gone.” Meanwhile, Michael Halberstam, the artistic director at Chicago’s Writers Theatre told CBS, “Molly was a marvelous actress and a completely warm hearted and generous human being. She had grace, sophistication and a sparkling, sexy, sassy stage presence…She could transform from a princess to a flower girl in the twinkling of an eye. She was a loving mother and wife and everyone who met her fell in love with her.”
Although Foust could not save his wife, Molly Glynn’s organs were donated and will hopefully save others in the wake of her tragedy.
Although “Acts of God” are considered an intervening force and generally cuts off liability if an injury occurs, people still have a duty to act responsibly when in the midst of bad weather and also have a duty to secure heavy objects on your propety that can turn into weapons with a strong gust of wind. In order to avoid liability, drive slowly in the rain and especially slow when the rain stops. If you have an old tree on your property that many people often walk under, take it down, cut it back, or move it. Secure old roofs and backyard playgrounds. While weather is uncontrollable, do what you can to mitigate the damage inflicted by mother nature.