Articles Posted in Fatal Trucking Accidents

Earlier this week in Utah, a man died when he was involved in a head-on collision with a semi truck. According to a report by the Standard Examiner, the accident occurred on State Road 40 shortly after 5 p.m. Apparently the driver of the semi truck was driving east when he pulled into the westbound lane, attempting to pass a slow moving SUV. However, as he did pulled into the other lane, he pulled right into the path of a pickup truck that was traveling west. The semi and the pickup truck collided head on.

The semi truck, which was hauling crude oil, did not lose its cargo, but did lose one tire. The driver of the semi truck was not injured. However, the driver of the pickup truck, who was not wearing a seatbelt at the time of the accident, suffered fatal injuries. There was a passenger in the pickup truck who also suffered some minor injuries, as did the driver of the SUV that the semi truck was trying to pass. All injured are expected to recover.

Head On Collisions with Semi Trucks

It’s hard to imagine a more dreadful kind of accident than a head on collision with a semi-truck. With their enormous size and weight, semi trucks can level anything in their path, and that is very often what happens when a semi truck and a smaller vehicle collide head on. It is for this reason that semi truck drivers are required to have special permits that allow them to operate commercial vehicles.

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Earlier this week in Anne Arundel County, a truck driver was indicted on five counts, including negligent manslaughter and negligent and reckless driving. The charges stem from an August 2013 accident that occurred on Route 3 when the truck’s driver rear ended a Toyota Camry, causing a chain-reaction accident that involved six vehicles in total.

According to an article by the Capitol Gazette, the driver was traveling at around 50 miles per hours when he rear ended the Toyota. An investigation uncovered that the truck’s driver did not slow down as he approached the slowed traffic at the overpass near Route 32.

The Camry had five passengers in it, three of which were pronounced dead at the scene. The driver and the front-seat passenger were both taken to the University of Maryland’s Shock Trauma Center in Baltimore with life-threatening injuries, but eventually recovered.

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Earlier last week in California, police positively identified the driver of a semi-truck that ran a red light and killed another driver. According to a report by the local ABC affiliate, the semi-truck driver was heading northbound shortly after 2 a.m. when he ran the red light. As he entered the intersection, the truck collided with an SUV as well as a smaller Ford sedan. The two people in the SUV suffered minor injuries, but the driver of the Ford was pronounced dead at the scene.

After the accident, the semi-truck driver did not stop, but instead continued on. A motorist who saw the accident followed the semi-truck for about a half mile and then confronted the driver, who denied hitting anyone. The witness then called police and the truck driver fled on foot, leaving the semi-truck behind. After a several-hour search, police still could not find the suspect; however, by the end of the day they had him in custody. The witness has since positively identified the semi-truck driver, who will be charged with a fatal hit-and-run accident as well as for running a red light.

Hit-and-Run Semi-Truck Accidents in Maryland

Although this tragic hit-and-run accident occurred across the country in California, it could have just as easily happened here in Maryland. When any driver is involved in an accident, the law requires that the driver stop and make sure that the others involved do not need immediate medical attention. Not only is this the law, but it is basic human dignity.

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Earlier this week, a woman in Memphis, Tennessee was crossing the street against the traffic light when she was struck by a tractor trailer during rush hour traffic. Several witnesses to that accident say that it looked as though the driver didn’t see the woman crossing the street and didn’t notice once he hit her.

According to a report by the local CBS affiliate, another driver saw the accident, made a U-turn, and pulled in front of the truck to stop it but by then it was too late. Another witness reported that he honked at the semi truck in hopes it would see the woman, but the driver’s efforts were useless. While the accident is still under investigation, the truck driver has not been charged with any crime at this point.

Maryland Semi Trucks and Pedestrian Safety

Generally, we think of semi trucks as operating mostly on the interstate freeways and highways. For this reason, a pedestrian may not be the most commonly thought of victim of a semi truck accident. However, truck-pedestrian accidents are more common than one may think and when they occur, they are often fatal for obvious reasons.

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A few weeks ago on Christmas Eve, two semi-trucks got into an accident in Virginia, leaving one of the truck drivers dead. According to a report by the local ABC affiliate, one truck operated by Dunbar Trucking was merging onto the I-64 onramp when it was struck in the rear by another truck operated by the Roadway Corporation.

The accident damaged the trailer and cab operated by Dunbar Trucking, and the truck’s driver sustained minor injuries. The Roadway truck was completely destroyed and the driver was pronounced dead at the scene. At the time of the report, police were still investigating the cause of the accident.

Big Trucks Have Massive Potential for Destruction

Given their great size, semi-trucks and tractor-trailers can be some of the most hazardous obstacles an everyday driver encounters. Not every truck accident is fatal, but a large number of them are. Some suggest that up to 98% of all semi-truck accidents result in at least one fatality. This number is smaller for other types of commercial trucks.

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In the course of discussing trucking accidents, especially those involving serious personal injury or death, we often think of the continuum of the process as spanning from when the initial complaint is filed through settlement or, in some cases, jury trial. However, the case doesn’t always end after a jury has entered its verdict, even when the plaintiff prevails.

A recent New York case offers a glimpse into the types of issues that defendants may raise in appealing decisions where the jury decides in favor of the plaintiff.

The case, BAKALOR v. JB HUNT TRANSPORT, INC., Dist. Ct., SD NY (2013), arose out of a fatal accident, in which the deceased was hit by a tractor trailer being driven by a professional driver employed by the defendant. Following a four day trial, the jury rendered a verdict in favor of the plaintiff, the decedent’s estate, and granted the plaintiff $500,000 for the pain and suffering of the decedent, and an additional $12,081.20 for funeral and burial expenses. The defendant subsequently moved for reversal, or a new trial.

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The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit ruled within recent months to deny a judgment for the defendant in a complex truck accident case. The Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals is the federal appellate court to which all district court cases in Maryland are appealed. Therefore, this decision is instructive for Maryland trucking accident cases.

In PITT OHIO EXPRESS, LLC v. PAT SALMON & SONS, INC., Ct. App., 4th Cir. (2013), three commercial trucks and one passenger vehicle were involved in a collision.

Truck A, owned by “C. Bean” slowed down due to foggy conditions. Truck B, owned by “Pat Salmon” collided into the back of Truck A, which caused only minor damage to both trucks, but disabled truck A, and caused it to at least partially obstruct both lanes of traffic. Within seconds, a passenger vehicle approached, and attempted to brake, at that point Truck C, owned by “Pitt Ohio” collided into the back of the passenger vehicle, propelling the car into the back of Truck B. Both occupants of the passenger vehicle and a passenger who had exited Truck B were killed as a result of the collision.

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Last week a truck driver was sentenced for his role in a tragic traffic accident that killed a 46 year old man during his commute to work. The accident happened in January 2012 as the victim was en route to his job at the Maryland-National Capital Park And Planning Commission, traveling southbound on Route Md 75. The defendant was traveling northbound in his 26,580-pound tractor-trailer at the same time. According to trial testimony, at times the driver reached speeds of up to 67 mph in the 40 mph zone of the road.

A state trooper testified that the accident occurred when the truck driver headed up a hill, and attempted to negotiate a sharp right curve in the road, the trailer portion of the truck, which happened to be empty, swung into the southbound lane, where it struck and crushed the victim’s passenger truck.

Earlier this month, a jury found the driver guilty of criminally negligent vehicular manslaughter, speeding, and failure to remain right of the center line. The driver’s sentence of eight months in prison, with an additional suspended sentence of two years and four months, was the first of this kind reached in Frederick County, following the statute’s 2011 enactment. Following his release, the driver must also complete a three-year term of supervised probation or risk being incarcerated for the suspended sentence.

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