Articles Posted in Truck Accidents

As the temperature drops and the nights grow longer, Maryland drivers prepare to travel to holiday celebrations around the state and around the country. Remembering holiday seasons past, drivers on Maryland highways should be prepared to confront a sea of tail lights and slow moving bumpers this year as well. However, while the kids play license plate bingo, Maryland personal injury lawyers urge our readers to drive safely so that they can enjoy holiday celebrations.

Lebowitz & Mzhen would like to take this time to offer some safe driving tips to make sure that all of you are able to have a very happy holiday surrounded by family and friends.

• Plan your route based on traffic information

According to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, 20% of Marylanders killed in truck accidents in 2006 were between the ages of 16 and 25, and speed or failure of the young driver to stay in their proper lane caused nearly 53% of these fatalities. According to the NTSB, young drivers represent less than 7% of this country’s driving population, but make up 13% of drivers involved in fatal car accidents. 66% of passengers killed when teens are behind the wheel are between the ages of 15 and 19 years old. According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety young drivers need 500 hours of practice in order to be considered safe drivers.

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A 78-year-old woman was killed and her 74-year-old husband sustained serious injuries when they were hit by a dump truck in Germantown last Thursday. The deadly Maryland motor vehicle crash occurred around 12:50pm on Route 118 in an area of the road that was under construction.

The dump truck struck the elderly pedestrians as it was backing up. Yushu Li died at the accident scene. Her husband, Xiufeng Wang was admitted to Suburban Hospital in serious but stable condition.

According to police, who are conducting the investigation, the backup alarm on the truck was working and the truck doesn’t appear to have any code violations. Dump truck driver Jack Bowers did not sustain injures.

A backhoe operator who saw the couple walking prior to the accident stopped his equipment because he believed the two of them were too close to the debris.

Common kinds of truck accidents that can lead to injuries and deaths include:

• Trucks striking pedestrians
• A collision between a truck and car, motorcycle, or another vehicle
• A truck striking a nonmoving object

Trucks that have been involved in traffic accidents include:

• Dump trucks
• 18-wheeler trucks
• Tractor-trailers
• Van trucks
• Garbage trucks
• Logging trucks
• Livestock vehicles
• Cement mixers
• Bobtail units
Senior Pedestrians Facts

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, senior pedestrians made up 16% of the 4,654 pedestrians that died and the 6% percent of the 70,000 pedestrians that were injured in traffic crashes in 2007.

Woman Killed After Dump Truck Strikes Her, WJZ.com, October 10, 2008
Woman Dies in Truck Accident, WashingtonPost.com, October 10, 2008
Pedestrians Hit by Dump Truck in Germantown , MyFox, October 9, 2008

Related Web Resources:

Pedestrian Traffic Safety Fact Sheet, NHTSA

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Four people sustained injuries in Harford County, Maryland, after a tractor-trailer hit a pickup truck, turned over, and spilled a flammable chemical onto Interstate 95 (southbound). The crash occurred past the Aberdeen exit close to the Maryland House Travel Center.

Maryland State Police say the trucking accident occurred soon after 2am soon after Juan Moyorga, a pickup truck driver slowed down his vehicle in the wake of the crash scene from an earlier collision. He was rear-ended by a tractor-trailer, which then turned over onto the center median’s guardrail.

Investigators say that fluid began leaking from the semi-truck onto the ground. They have identified the flammable chemical as acetone.

A part of the highway was shut down for eight hours, while firefighters managed to contain the acetone leak. The Maryland Department of the Environment says about five gallons had leaked out.

Edgewood resident Deanna Moyorga, a passenger in the pickup, was transported by air to Maryland Shock Trauma Center with critical injuries. Juan Moyorga and another passenger, Andreas Juarez, suffered serious injures and were also taken to the center.

Baltimore tractor-trailer driver Carroll Quarles suffered non fatal injuries and was transported to Harford Memorial Hospital.

Chemical Spills

Trucking accidents resulting in chemical spills can be a potential hazard not just to the motor vehicle crash victims but to other people in the area—depending on the type of chemical that is leaked and the injuries that can result.

4 hurt, chemical spilled in I-95 crash in Harford, BaltimoreSun.com, October 5, 2008
Interstate 95 Reopens After Hazmat Spill, WBALTV.com, October 4, 2008

Related Web Resource:

Agency for Toxic Substances & Disease Registry, CDC.gov
Maryland Department of the Environment

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Following its findings that the cause of a 2005 semi-trailer– bus crash in Wisconsin that claimed five lives and injured over 30 people happened because the truck driver had fallen asleep while driving, the National Transportation Safety Board is recommending that the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration implement new technology to fight trucker fatigue.

The deadly crash occurred when a bus carrying a high school band rammed into Kozlowski’s overturned large truck. The agency says that Kozlowski failed to get enough sleep during his off-time and nodded off right before his truck jackknifed.

While the jury for Kozlowski’s criminal trial acquitted the trucker of 12 felony and 21 misdemeanor charges and placed blame on the 78-year-old bus driver for not wearing his glasses, the agency’s findings conclude that even if he had worn his glasses, the motorcoach operator would have had a hard time seeing the truck in the dark.

The NTSB is recommending that the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration:

• Put together a plan to install anti-fatigue technology in commercial carriers.

• Create a methodology to evaluate how well a motor carrier’s fatigue management strategy is working.

The NTSB is recommending that the National Highway Traffic Administration figure out whether it makes sense to install active braking and electronic stability control systems in commercial trucks. It also wants trucking companies to more closely monitor truck log books and make sure that their drivers are getting enough sleep in between their driving shifts.

If you or someone you love was injured in a Maryland truck crash, this is not the kind of case that you want to handle without an experienced truck crash attorney by your side.

Truck Driver Fell Asleep, NTSB Says, School Transportation News
Truck accidents justify crackdown on fatal link to drivers’ fatigue, DelawareOnline.com, September 19, 2008

Related Web Resources:

Hours-of-Service Regulations, Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration

National Transportation Safety Board

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

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A Maryland woman who was going to get married on September 20 died a week before her wedding when the limousine that she and her friends were riding in on the night of her bachelorette party was struck by a tractor-trailer around 4:30 in the morning. Sunshine Royston, 28, suffered fatal injuries from the truck crash.

According to Baltimore police, a Freightliner tractor-trailer turned into the left side of the limousine, causing the limo to get knocked onto its side. Royston was later pronounced dead at Johns Hopkins Hospital and the other girls that had been in the vehicle with her were also treated for injuries. A Baltimore police spokesman says that preliminary reports indicate that the tractor-trailer driver appears to have failed to yield to the right of way but that the investigation into the crash continues.

According to family members, the girls rented the limousine for the party because they did not want to drink and drive. Royston leaves behind her finance and three children.

According to the Large Truck Crash Causation Study (a summary can be found on the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s Web site), associated factors for truck crashes include:

• Exhaustion
• Brake difficulties
• Use of prescription drugs or over-the-counter medication
• Road problems
• Driving too fast for current road conditions
• Interruptions to traffic flow
• Improper surveillance
• Work pressures
• Illegal maneuvering
• Driver distraction or inattention
• Jackknifing
• Illness
• Drunk driving
• Driving under the influence of drugs
Bride-to-be dies when tractor-trailer hits limousine, BaltimoreSun.com, September 14, 2008
Viewing Held For Bride-To-Be Killed In Accident, WJZ.com, September 16, 2008

Related Web Resource:

Large Truck Crash Causation Study, FMCSA

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The NHTSA is reporting a decline in overall traffic fatalities in the US between 2007 and 2006. According to its 2007 Annual Assessment of Motor Vehicle Traffic Crash Fatalities and People Injured, the drop in total deaths from 42,708 deaths in 2006 to 41,059 fatalities in 2007 to was a 3.9% decrease. The report also reported a decline in the number of motor vehicle injury victims, from 2,575,000 injuries in 2006 to 2,491,000 injury victims in 2007.

Other 2007 US Traffic Accident Statistics:

• 28,933 passenger vehicle deaths.

• 2,221,000 passenger vehicle injuries.

• 802 large trucker deaths.
• 23,000 large trucker injuries (The same number of reported large truck injuries as in 2006).
• 4,808 killed in large truck accidents.
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• 5,154 motorcycle deaths—an increase from the 4,837 motorcycle fatalities in 2006.

• 103,000 motorcycle injuries—an increase from the 88,000 motorcycle injuries in 2006.

• 4,654 pedestrian deaths
• 70,000 pedestrian injuries
• 698 pedalcyclist deaths
• 43,000 pedalcyclist injuries
• 12,998 Drunk driving-related deaths
Motor vehicle accidents can lead to catastrophic injuries for the victims as well as cause a great deal of pain, suffering, and loss for family members. For many auto accident victims, it can be difficult to determine what action to take next to take care of yourself after a crash. Do NOT reach a settlement agreement with the negligent parties without exploring your legal options.

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Preliminary statistics for the number of injuries resulting from truck accidents in the United States in 2007 have been published on the US Department of Transportation Web site.

According to the data source Motor Carrier Management Information System (MCMIS), in 2007 there were:

• 54,961 injury crashes involving large trucks resulting in 80,752 injuries.

• 6,709 bus accidents resulting in 15,297 injuries.

These figure indicate an increase in truck accident injuries compared to the year prior. According to the MCMIS 2006 truck accident injury statistics, there were:

• 60,058 large truck collisions resulting in 90,087 injuries.

• 6,811 bus accidents resulting in 16,044 injuries.

The Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) says that: in 2006:

• 4,995 people died in 4,732 large truck accidents.
• 331 people died in 299 bus accidents.

• In 2007, large truck accidents resulted in 4,808 fatalities.

Pursuing an injury claim resulting in a truck accident requires the knowledge of an experienced Maryland truck crash lawyer. Injuries sustained in accidents involving tractor-trailers, garbage trucks, semi-trucks, and 18-wheeler trucks can be catastrophic–even fatal. It is important that your attorney is familiar with both state and federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration regulations and knows the way truck companies and their insurers handle injury cases in order to successfully pursue your personal injury claim or lawsuit.

2007 Preliminary Crash Facts

US Department of Transportation

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Officials in Maryland have confirmed reports that the car that sideswiped the tractor-trailer that fell off the Chesapeake Bay Bridge on August 10 was driven by a 19-year-old woman that fell asleep at the wheel. The driver, Candy Lynn Baldwin, was also injured in the catastrophic auto crash, which killed truck driver John Short. The Maryland medical examiner’s office cited drowning and multiple injuries as the trucker’s cause of death.

Baldwin has undergone several surgeries since the accident and will likely undergo more. According to NBC4.com, she also faces a wrongful death lawsuit from the accident.

Baldwin’s Chevrolet Camaro struck the large truck after crossing the center line. The impact of the collision caused the 40,000 pound tractor-trailer to crash through the jersey wall and drop into the Chesapeake Bay. The accident happened at around 4am and when traffic moving in both directions were sharing the bridge’s eastbound span.

In Anne Arundel County, Maryland, a man who sustained serious injuries after he was hit by a cement-mixer truck in 2005 has been awarded $1.95 million. Robert L. Howard, a truck driver for Goodwill Industries, lost 70% use of his left arm and suffered severe post-traumatic stress disorder because of the catastrophic truck accident, which happened while he was working on his disabled motor vehicle on the shoulder of the Baltimore-Washington Parkway. $1.83 million of the jury award for pain and suffering will be capped at $650,000, which was Maryland’s legal limit at the time of the truck crash.

The driver of the cement mixer truck was Richard Anthony Schulman, who left the crash scene. He later said that he did not know he had hit anyone until he read about the accident in the news. Schulman has an extensive criminal record, which includes convictions for theft and drug crimes.

Killed in the accident was Howard’s assistant, Errol Johnson, who was standing outside the truck with him. Schulman and Lafarge Mid-Atlantic reached a settlement agreement with Johnson’s family earlier this year.