Maryland Trucking Accident Lawyer Blog
Maryland authorities in Washington County, MD, as well as those in several other states, have lodged charges against the out-of-state truck driver who led police on a multi-state chase. While no injuries were reported in this instance, any time a commercial truck is used in a manner not intended for safe highway travel, innocent motorists can be put at risk. If a chase ensues when innocent drivers are around, people can and do get hurt as a result.
As Baltimore injury lawyers serving the residents of Maryland and Washington, D.C., we have heard countless stories of injury accidents involving passenger cars and 18-wheelers or motorcycles and commercial deliver trucks. While federal regulations such as 49 CFR Part 395, which puts limits on when and how long commercial truckers can operate their vehicles, endeavor to control the actions of law-abiding drivers, those who feel they are outside the law can be the cause of severe traffic accidents.
When a commercial truck driver, operating either a large box truck or the heavier and more massive 18-wheeler, acts in a negligent manner, lives can be put at risk. Traffic accidents caused by an errant semi tractor-trailer can result in multiple vehicle collisions, during which head, neck and internal injuries can result.
The physical injuries that these kinds of highway wrecks can cause are just the tip of the iceberg — for many families, the treatment immediately after the accident as well as the surgeries and physical therapy weeks and months later can cause a family financial trouble almost from the get go. In cases of wrongful death, where a negligent party caused an accident that took a loved one’s life, lawsuits are sometimes filed for pain and suffering that the victim experienced before his or her own death.
Regardless of the cause, a trucking-related traffic collision can many times be more serious than a similar passenger car collision. Luckily for everyone, that interstate police chase involving a Mississippi truck driver ended without and serious injuries. According to news reports, the trucker involved in that chase now faces multiple charges, some from the Maryland.
The chase ended after passing through West Virginia, Maryland and Pennsylvania. The driver, 42-year-old Thomas L. McNeel was being held on $250,000 bond following his arrest. Based on reports, he was charged with attempting to elude police officers, intent to possess a contraband substance, driving under the influence of a controlled substance, reckless endangerment, reckless and careless driving, plus numerous other traffic offenses, according to court records.
Here in Maryland, state police charged McNeel with four counts each of first- and second-degree assault; two counts of failure to stop following a traffic accident; eluding police officers, careless and negligent driving, according to the Washington County District Commissioners Office.
Truck driver involved in chase facing numerous charges in three states, Herald-Mail.com, December 21, 2010