Maryland Trucking Accident Lawyer Blog

Truck Safety: Staying Safe While on the Highway

August 12, 2014 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

If you have been paying attention to the headlines recently, you will have noticed a trend of more and more semi-truck wrecks in the news. For whatever reason, it seems as though this year more than others there is an increasing number of serious or fatal accidents involving large trucks.

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety recently published a report stating that in 2012 over 3,500 people lost their lives in accidents with big trucks. The vast majority of the fatalities were other motorists, rather than the truck drivers themselves. In fact, truck driver fatalities represented only 17% of the total fatalities. While trucking companies like to place the blame on other drivers, it is certain that many of these accidents are the fault of the truck driver or the truck company. That does not mean that drivers should not take precautions while on the road, however.

A recent article by Consumer Affairs has taken the issue of highway driving head-on, publishing a “how to” list of things motorists can do to be safe while sharing the road with big trucks.

Virginia Man Killed in Nebraska Truck Accident, Several Others Injured

August 5, 2014 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

In a tragic three-truck accident that occurred on Interstate 80 earlier this month, one Virginia man lost his life and several others were injured when one truck crashed into two others that had stopped at a construction zone. According to a report by the Nebraska Radio Network, the accident occurred just before five in the afternoon around mile marker 348 on Interstate 80.

Evidently, two trucks were stopped and waiting at a construction site when the third truck—driven by the man from Virginia—slammed into them. The driver of the semi-truck that crashed into the other two was pronounced dead at the scene. His passenger was flown to the hospital for treatment of the injuries he received in the crash.

The other two semi-truck drivers fared better. One was uninjured, and the other was admitted to the hospital with non-life threatening injuries and was quickly released.

Semi-Truck Crashes on I-95, Leaving Huge Stone Slabs on the Highway

July 29, 2014 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Earlier this week just north of the Fort McHenry Tunnel, a semi-truck overturned and dumped its load of huge stone slabs on the roadway. According to a report by the Baltimore Sun, the truck was driving southbound on I-95 near the Eastern Avenue exit when it was involved in a single-vehicle accident. When the truck toppled over, it dumped its load of giant stone slabs all across I-95.

Clean-up crews had a difficult time getting the slabs off the roadway due to their size and weight. However, after a few hours the crew was able to clear off the roadway and open it back up for regular traffic.

Investigators are not clear exactly what happened to cause the semi-truck to overturn, but an investigation is ongoing. Thankfully, there were no injuries.

Could Wal-Mart Be at Fault for the Crash that Injured Tracy Morgan and Killed Another Comedian?

July 22, 2014 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Earlier this year, actor and comedian Tracy Morgan was involved in a serious car accident on the New Jersey Turnpike. The accident, which occurred late at night, critically injured Morgan and killed his good friend and fellow comedian, James McNair.

The driver of the semi truck that hit Morgan’s limousine was an employee of Wal-Mart and was driving a Wal-Mart truck at the time of the accident. A post-accident investigation uncovered that the driver had not slept for the 24 hours prior to the accident and had traveled more than 700 miles over the course of that day. The driver is facing criminal charges for his involvement in the accident.

Recently, some people are wondering if Wal-Mart should share the blame with the driver. In fact, victims of the crash have named both the driver of the truck, as well as Wal-Mart, as defendants that they claim are responsible for their injuries and losses. As one recent article points out, the National Transportation Safety Bureau is conducting an investigation into the accident, but has not announced the result yet. Until then, people are speculating on how Wal-Mart could have prevented such a tragic accident.

Maryland Man Dies After Rear-Ending Broken Down Truck

July 15, 2014 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Earlier this week in an accident in Howard County, a Cooksville man was killed when he rear-ended a broken-down box truck that had been partially pulled off the road. According to a report by the Baltimore Sun, the accident occurred around 9 in the morning on I-70, near the Route 32 intersection.

Evidently, the victim was traveling eastbound in the left lane of I-70 when he struck the broken-down box truck from behind. Police told reporters that the truck had only partially been pulled off the side of the road, and that part of the truck was protruding into the leftmost lane of traffic.

The driver of the car was pronounced dead by Howard County Department of Fire and Rescue as soon as they arrived on the scene. The driver of the box truck was not injured. Police have not yet issued a citation to the box-truck driver and are in the middle of an investigation into the cause of the accident.

Frederick Dump Truck Accident Sends Five to the Hospital

July 8, 2014 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Earlier this week, a Thurmont family was sent to the hospital after being involved in a serious accident with a dump truck. According to a report by Your4State.com, the accident occurred on Route 15, near the intersection with Route 26 in Frederick County, Maryland. Evidently, around 2 a.m., the family was traveling down Route 15 when they slammed into the rear end of a dump truck that had stopped in the middle of the road. The dump truck had stopped at a construction site.

All four members of the family were taken to the hospital, three by helicopter and one by ambulance. The driver of the dump truck was also taken to the hospital, but only with minor injuries.

Police are still investigating the cause of the accident, and have not yet determined who was at fault for this serious dump truck accident. However, it is known that the part of Route 15 where the accident happened is experiencing some road closures. What is unclear, however, is whether a closed road was unmarked.

Truck Driver Side Swipes Police Cruiser on Capital Beltway

June 27, 2014 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Last week, in a frightening accident that occurred on the Capital Beltway just outside Washington DC, a semi-truck driver side-swiped a police cruiser as the officer was writing another motorist a ticket. According to a report by WUSA 9, the accident occurred in the early morning hours on the outer loop, near Colesville Road.

Evidently, the semi-truck came up upon the police cruiser and the other vehicle, crashed into them, and then continued to travel down the highway for another 100 or so yards before it jack-knifed across several lanes. The massive force involved in the accident ruptured one of the truck’s fuel tanks, sending diesel fuel all over the highway, causing additional concern.

Both the police officer and the motorist he had pulled over were taken to the hospital with non-life threatening injuries and are expected to recover fully from their injuries. The Outer Loop was closed for about 5 hours as police and emergency crews clean up the scene and conducted the accident reconstruction.

Lack of Sleep Cited as Potential Cause of Accident that Critically Injured Comedian Tracy Morgan and Killed Another Comedian

June 20, 2014 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

If you have been paying attention to the news media in the past few weeks, you have certainly heard about a fatal truck accident in New Jersey that claimed the life of one comedian and sent several others to the hospital. Comedian Tracy Morgan was with several of his friends heading north on the New Jersey Turnpike late at night when the limo they were riding in slowed down due to slowing traffic ahead.

As the limo began to slow, the truck that was behind the limo failed to do the same. Eventually, the truck slammed into the rear end of the limo. The crash killed one man and sent four others to the hospital. Four other cars were also involved, but none of their occupants was seriously injured.

According to a recent report by the LOHUD, the truck driver may have been on the road without sleep for the past 24 hours. The driver of the truck has been charged with several criminal offenses for his role in the tragic accident, including assault by automobile and vehicular homicide. Just last week, the driver of the truck—a Wal-mart employee—entered a not guilty plea to all charges. He has posted $50,000 bond and is currently out of custody.

Truck Driver Killed When Trailer Detaches from Truck

June 13, 2014 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Earlier this month in Arbutus, Maryland, a truck driver was killed when the trailer he was towing inexplicably detached from the truck and sent the truck careening over a bridge embankment. According to a report by WBALTV 11, the truck driver was heading south on Interstate 95 near the Patapsco River bridge around 11:30 in the morning when the trailer he was towing became detached from the truck.

The truck driver lost control of the truck and crashed into the side of the bridge embankment, going right over it. The truck fell to the ground and landed in a park below before it caught fire. The truck driver was pronounced dead at the scene of the accident. He was the only person in the truck, and no other people were injured in the accident.

Police are not sure what caused the trailer to separate from the truck, and they are investigating the accident in hopes of finding out more information. Investigators are unsure how fast the truck was traveling when the trailer separated from the truck.

Trucker Gets into DUI Accident on 301, Another Trucker Gets Hit on the Detour

June 6, 2014 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

The early morning hours of May 28 was not a good time to be traveling southbound on 301. According to a report by the Star Democrat, a truck driver was involved in an accident at around four in the morning that blocked all three southbound lanes near Millington.

Evidently, the truck driver got into an accident that resulted in the truck overturning in the middle of the highway. Responding officers cited the driver for driving under the influence. Due to the blockage of all three lanes of southbound traffic, traffic authorities had to come up with a detour. They chose to reroute drivers down Route 544.

A few minutes later, a truck driver stopped to ask police for directions because he was unfamiliar with the area. Police directed the driver to head west onto Route 544. However, as he did so, he was struck by another semi-truck. This accident blocked the intersection of Route 544 and 301, so a second detour than had to be arranged.