A commercial work truck carrying several people went out of control in a local neighborhood not long ago fatally injuring the driver and causing serious injury to the vehicle’s two other occupants. As Maryland personal injury attorneys and auto accident lawyers, I and my legal staff know all too well the potential dangers that commercial trucking accidents pose in densely populated areas such as Frederick, Rockville, Gaithersburg and Washington, D.C.
It is the responsibility of every truck owner and driver to maintain the safety of individuals riding inside a motor vehicle, not to mention the safety of any innocent bystanders or other drivers who may be close by. In this particular case, no definitive reason was given at the time of the news report as to the cause of the fatal motor vehicle crash.
While driver error may have played a part, there always remains the question of faulty safety equipment, such as the brakes or steering components, or perhaps poor maintenance procedures. Defective equipment or poorly followed maintenance procedures can in some cases lead to a third party being named in a personal injury or wrongful death lawsuit.
According to police reports, this recent truck wreck occurred just before noon on a Wednesday in Baltimore County around the Lutherville-Timonium area. According to police, patrolmen responded to reports of a Ford F-350 work truck that had crashed into a tree near Meadowcroft Ct. and Dulaney Valley Rd.
Based on police accounts, 26-year-old Sheldon Walker was reportedly driving south on Dulaney Valley when for some reason he apparently lost control of the commercial vehicle. Police said that the Ford then traveled across the southbound lanes of the roadway jumping the curb on the west side of the street, crashing through a nearby fence and finally hitting a large tree.
The force of the collision caused tremendous damage to the front of the Ford Crew Cab, apparently resulting in sufficient structural damage to make the doors unusable; Walker and his two passengers, 30-year-old Ajani Maillard in the front seat and 27-year-old Peter Duffy in the back, were temporarily trapped in the vehicle after the incident.
Emergency responders arriving at the scene of the accident were apparently able to extricate all three people from the wrecked truck. Walker, who sustained life-threatening injuries during the collision, was rushed to Baltimore’s Sinai Hospital but sadly doctors could not save him and he died from his extensive injuries later that day.
The other two victims who also received near-fatal injuries were transported to Maryland Shock Trauma Center in Baltimore for medical treatment. At the time of the news articles, Duffy was still in critical condition the following day. Police stated that the truck’s airbags had deployed, which may have saved one of the passengers, though it does not explain totally the fatal injuries sustained by the driver.
Although police had only performed a preliminary investigation at the time of the news articles, investigators for the department told reporters that they found no immediate evidence of drug or alcohol use that could have contributed to the deadly accident that morning.
Man dies after work truck crashes in Baltimore County, police say, BaltimoreSun.com, June 2, 2011
Man Dies After Morning Truck Crash, Patch.com, June 2, 2011
Man Dies, 2 Others Injured In Crash, WBALTV.com, June 2, 2011