As commercial trucking accident attorneys, we make no bones about the number of innocent people killed each year as a result of negligent driving on the part of truckers operating 18-wheeler rigs and other heavy commercial vehicles. The very nature of these huge motor vehicles — such as fuel tankers makes these vehicle more than a match for the average passenger car, SUV or family sedan.
As such, the drivers of these vehicles are trained and licensed by the government to operate their machines in a responsible and safe manner. And while most truckers do treat their jobs as positions of great responsibility, there are others who tend to give the entire industry a bad name. The same can also be said about trucking line owners, a small percentage of whom seem to thumb their noses at the rules and regulations that have been established to protect the road-going public from harm.
Whether through unwritten policy, direct acts of negligence or outright dangerous vehicle operation, numerous big rig drivers and trucking companies throughout the U.S. are fined or imprisoned each year as a result of poor business practices or injury-related traffic accidents caused by trucker in their employ.
As Maryland personal injury lawyers, we see more than a handful of stories every month illustrating the dangers of commercial trucking wrecks across our state and even in the District of Columbia. Injuries, some severe, and deaths caused by negligent individuals take innocent lives every day.
Whether the victim is a motorcycle rider, car passenger or another truck driver, our job is to help these people and their families recover costs associated with the accidents that have occurred. The following are a few examples of truck-related collisions that ended up in the death of another motorist.
DC Resident Killed on I-70
A motorist from the District died following a wreck involving a tractor-trailer on Interstate 70 in the Washington, D.C. area. In what appears to be a possible underride accident, a 56-year-old man driving a Toyota Celica on a Wednesday evening reportedly hit the rear end of an 18-wheeler semi at what police suggested was a high rate of speed. The trucker and his wife were not injured in the traffic wreck, which authorities said caused extensive damage to both the car and the trailer. No other information was available at the time of the news article.
Largo, MD, Driver Dies in Collision with Big Rig
In an early morning traffic accident, a 28-year-old woman from Prince George’s County was a flat-bed semi tractor-trailer hit her car as it entered an intersection along a stretch of Rte 301 near Forrestville. According to police reports, the victim was driving a Honda Accord on Bridge Rd a little after 9am when the crash occurred. The woman was transported by EMS crews to Bowie Health Center, however she could not be revived. News reports showed that the trucker was not hurt ion the crash, and an accident reconstruction was continuing at the time of the article.
Rte 97 Auto-Truck Crash Kills Littlestown Motorist
News reports indicate that an Adams County resident passed away following a Thursday morning head-on roadway collision between the victim’s vehicle and a semi rig. The wreck occurred as the 51-year-old female passenger car driver was headed northbound on Rte. 97. The force of the crash, according to news articles, dragged the victim’s car another 300 feet south of the impact site. The woman was pronounced dead at the scene of the collision.
Woman killed in accident with tractor-trailer on Rt. 97, WHPTV.com, March 1, 2012
Torrean Lynnae Rich Of Largo, Md., Killed In Collision Tractor Trailer Collision, WUSA9.com, February 10, 2012
Woman killed in Bowie tractor trailer crash, WJLA.com, February 9, 2012
Man killed in tractor-trailer crash identified, WashingtonPost.com, February 3, 2012