In Maryland highway collisions as well as automobile accidents on Annapolis, D.C., Columbia and other cities’ streets, occupants of a passenger car can be severely injured when hit by a large commercial delivery truck or over-the-road tractor-trailer rig. But even these large trucking company vehicles can be damaged and the drivers hurt, if not killed, if they are hit by a train.
Depending on the circumstances commuter train riders and railroad employees can also be hurt if the engine hits a large truck sitting on a railroad crossing. Personal injury attorneys in Baltimore and elsewhere can receive numerous inquiries following severe train-truck wrecks. The speed of the train and the size of the commercial vehicle usually determine how many passengers might sustain serious injuries as a result.
A few weeks ago, a truck driver operating a Volvo-powered 18-wheel rig crossed paths with a light rail passenger train. According to news reports at the time, investigators were checking into the collision in Cockeysville, MD, and were expected to lodge charges against the truck driver.
The driver, 53-year-old Mark Szurek of the John W. Ritter Trucking company, was transporting a Wabash trailer filled with plastic bottles when the crash occurred around 9:20am. Police stated that the driver appeared to have ignored the railroad crossing warning light and was crossing the tracks when the southbound train hit the truck.
The impact split the trailer in two, a part of which collided with a 2009 Honda Civic that was behind the semi at the time. The driver of the car, 45-year-old Elliott Schoen from Montgomery County refused medical treatment.
According to a Baltimore County police, the operator of the Maryland Transit Administration train was trapped for about 25 minutes before being rescued and then transported to Maryland Shock Trauma Center were she was in serious but stable condition at the time of the report.
Based on news reports, seven passengers were on the train at the time of the crash. Two were taken to local hospitals to be treated for minor injuries while the remaining five were reportedly unhurt.
Truck driver in light rail crash expected to face charges, BaltimoreSun.com, March 25, 2010
Charges pending against truck driver in rail crash, FrederickNewspost.com, March 24, 2010