Maryland Trucking Accident Lawyer Blog

2013 Rosedale Accident Determined To Be Caused by Distracted Driving

November 7, 2014 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Last year in Rosedale, a trash truck crossed onto a railroad track as the train was approaching and caused the train to derail, ultimately resulting in millions of dollars of property damage. Luckily, no one was hurt in the accident.

Just recently, the National Transportation Safety Board released the results of its investigation into the accident. The NTSB determined that the driver failed to check that the tracks were clear before he proceeded over them. Specifically, the NTSB also determined that the driver of the trash truck was on his cellular phone, using a hands-free device, at the time of the accident.

Evidently, the cell phone records of the driver came back indicating that he accepted a phone call just 18 seconds before the serious accident.

Truck Driver Dies in Hagerstown I-81 Crash

October 24, 2014 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

In a tragic accident earlier this week in West Hagerstown, one man lost his life in a semi-truck accident when the truck he was driving drifted off the right side of the road, struck a guardrail, and then ran into a bridge support beam. According to one local news report, the truck was carrying recyclables and was heading northbound on Interstate 81 when the fatal accident occurred.

Evidently, when the truck crashed into the beam, it exploded. Investigators believe that a saddle fuel ruptured on impact and that was the cause of the explosion. The driver of the truck was pronounced dead at the scene of the accident. Thankfully, no other cars or trucks were involved in the accident, and the truck driver was the only person injured.

One witness to the accident told reporters that she was about 13 car lengths back at the time of the collision, and that initially she didn’t think that it was a very serious accident. It wasn’t until the loud “boom” that she realized the seriousness of the accident. Engineers were called in to assess the structural integrity of the bridge after the explosion. It is not yet clear what the situation is regarding the bridge’s stability.

Maryland Dump Truck Accident Traps Driver for Hours While Crews Try To Free Him

October 17, 2014 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Earlier this month in a frightening accident in Ellicott City, a dump truck crashed on the side of the road, trapping the driver inside for hours. According to a report by one local news source, the driver of the dump truck was heading north on Route 29 between Maryland Route 103 and US Route 40 around 8:30 in the morning when the accident occurred.

Evidently, the truck was heading north when it suddenly left the road, crashed into a guard rail, and then crashed into an overhead sign. Eventually, the dump truck flipped over, trapping the driver inside. When emergency crews responded, it took them over two hours to get the man out of the truck. Police said that the extrication was a resource-intensive and highly technical operation.

While the cause of the accident is still under investigation, investigators say that it is possible that one of the tires on the dump truck blew out. This then would have caused the driver of the truck to lose control, sending the truck off the roadway.

Williamsport Bicyclist Injured When Hit By Dump Truck

October 10, 2014 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Earlier this week, a man was flown to a trauma center in Baltimore when he fell off his bicycle and was then hit by a passing dump truck. According to a report by one local news source, the 63-year-old man was riding his bike near the North Conococheague Street bridge when the accident occurred.

Evidently, the bicyclist was heading eastbound on North Conococheague Street when he lost control of the three-wheeled bicycle he was riding around 3:00 in the afternoon. After he fell off the bicycle, a passing dump truck struck the bicyclist, severely injuring him.

The man was immediately flown to R. Adams Cowley Shock Trauma Center in Baltimore, where he was treated for his injuries. Luckily, the bicyclist was wearing a helmet at the time of the crash.

Bus Accident Near Maryland-Delaware Border Claims Two Lives, Injures Dozens More

October 3, 2014 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Earlier this week, a bus headed south from New York City was involved in a fatal accident near the Maryland-Delaware border. According to a report by USA Today, the accident occurred on an exit ramp onto northbound Route 13 from Route 1 near Red Lion, Delaware.

Evidently, the southbound bus was in the process of negotiating a tight turn when the driver lost control of the bus, triggering the fatal bus accident. The bus was attempting to make the teardrop-shaped loop onto Route 1 around 4:20 in the afternoon when the accident occurred.

No one on board the bus escaped without injury. Two people died as a result. One of the deceased was found trapped under the bus. Several others were trapped inside the bus. In total, 48 passengers were injured. Maryland State Police loaned Delaware authorities helicopters to help get the victims medical care as quickly as possible.

Two Dump Trucks Get into Head-On Collision in Maryland

September 22, 2014 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Earlier this month in Frederick County, two dump trucks working for the same company got into a head-on collision, injuring both drivers. According to a report by WUSA9, the accident occurred just after noon on Elmer Derr Road, near East Mount Zion Road.

Evidently, both of the trucks were owned by a concrete company based in Gaithersburg, Maryland. At some point, the truck heading westbound drifted across the center median and slammed into the eastbound truck. There was no indication that either of the drivers was under the influence of drugs or alcohol at the time of the accident.

Both drivers were injured in the accident. One of them was taken by ambulance to FMH, and the other was flown by helicopter to the University of Maryland Medical Center in Baltimore. It seems as though both drivers will make a full recovery.

Cement-Truck Rollover Causes Accident, Injures Two

September 15, 2014 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Recently in Delaware, an accident involving two cement trucks and a passenger car injured two people. According to a report by Delmarva Now, the accident occurred just after 9:15 in the morning near the intersection of Woodpecker Road and Butler Branch Road in Seaford, Delaware.

Evidently, a woman was heading south on Woodpecker Road and was approaching a narrow bridge. At the same time, two cement trucks were approaching the bridge from the opposite direction. Before the first truck entered the bridge, he slowed down in order to allow the driver of the car to cross the bridge first. However, the driver of the second cement truck, which was directly behind the first, was unable to stop in time and needed to make a last-minute decision whether to run into the truck in front of him or try and avoid a collision.

The driver of the second truck attempted to avoid the collision but ended up rolling the truck instead. As the driver of the car crossed the bridge, she crashed into the overturned cement truck. After the accident, both the driver of the cement truck and the driver of the car were taken to the hospital with minor injuries.

Accident Between Dump Truck and Motorcycle Leaves One Dead

September 9, 2014 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Recently in Mechanicsville, one man lost his life after he was involved in an accident with a dump truck while riding his motorcycle. According to a report by Southern Maryland News Net, the accident occurred near the intersection of Route 5 and Thompson’s Corner Road just after 6:15 in the evening.

Evidently, the motorcyclist was heading north on Route 5 when he ran into the back of the dump truck, which was also heading north. The dump truck had just turned onto Route 5 from Thompson’s Corner Road.

The motorcyclist was ejected off his bike and was pronounced dead at the scene by emergency responders. The dump truck driver was not injured.

Truck Driver’s Negligent Driving Causes Serious Accident in Hagerstown

September 2, 2014 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Earlier last month in Hagerstown, a three-vehicle accident was caused when a semi-truck rear-ended a car, causing it to lose control. According to a report by WUSA 9, the accident occurred on Interstate 70 eastbound at Route 66, near exit 35.

Evidently, a 2005 Volvo tractor-trailer was heading eastbound on I-70 when it rear-ended a 2003 Mercury Sable, causing the driver to lose control of the car. As the Mercury was careening out of control, it flipped over. The truck, also losing control, ended up in the far right lane of travel on I-70, where it hit a minivan. The truck then finally came to a stop.

Both the driver of the truck and the driver of the minivan were taken to the Mertius Medical Center with serious injuries. The passenger in the minivan was also taken to the hospital. All are expected to recover.

Fatal Truck Accidents on the Rise Across the Country

August 26, 2014 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Fatal truck accidents have steadily been increasing since 2006, a recent article by NBC News reports. The article claims that as the US economy has gotten better, more and more goods are being shipped across the country via trucks. When there are more trucks on the road, there are bound to be more trucking accidents.

According to the NBC News article, there are 11 fatal truck accidents each day across the country, killing roughly 4,000 people annually. On top of the fatal trucking accidents, over 100,000 people are injured each year in serious truck accidents.

The article also points out that, surprisingly, there has not been a national outcry to increase the restrictions, regulations, and laws governing interstate truckers. Normally, when a certain type of accident becomes more common, people react by trying to stop the cause of the accident. However, even the very public accident that injured actor and comedian Tracy Morgan and killed one other person only resulted in minimal effort to change the laws surrounding truck drivers.