Maryland Trucking Accident Lawyer Blog

Fiery Tractor Trailer Collision in College Park

October 1, 2013 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

A seven mile traffic slowdown was the result of a huge tractor-trailer fire that happened following a collision near the exit to Route 1 by the I-95 merge with the inner loop late last month.

Police reported that the collision was caused as a result of another car somehow entering the tractor-trailer’s path, causing the truck to crash into an unattended car. The tractor-trailer then caught fire almost immediately, as did the disabled car.

Firefighters reportedly struggled for three hours to completely extinguish the flames. The fire completely decimated the tractor-trailer, with its cargo, cardboard, and wooden palettes, apparently having served as fuel for the fire. The unattended vehicle also suffered substantial damage as a result of the fire. Miraculously, the driver of the truck was not injured, and there were no other reported injuries.

Hit & Run Trucking Accident Derails Bicyclists Cross Country Fundraising Trip

September 27, 2013 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

A Maryland man who was in the midst of a more than 10,000-mile cross-country bike trip designed to raise money for hearing loss was halted abruptly when the bicyclist was clipped by a semi-trailer in a hit and run accident.

According to a Sheriff’s spokesperson, the bicyclist was riding in Florida when he was clipped by the mirror of a semi-trailer on Saturday evening. He then fell from his bike onto the shoulder of the roadway. He was transported to a local hospital for treatment, where doctors found that he had sustained a concussion, fractured left cheek bone, a broken nose, road rash, and bruising from his fall.

The deaf man, who was inspired to help others after receiving his cochlear implant, initially set out on a bike trip to visit all of the Major League Baseball stadiums across the country in order to raise money and awareness for cochlear implants. He had only 200 miles remaining in the trip that has so far raised more than $140,000. The Polk County Sheriff’s Office is conducting an investigation into the incident.

Tractor Trailer Hit and Run on Interstate 81

September 20, 2013 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

According to reports from state police, the driver of a tractor trailer who was involved in a fatal crash in East Hanover Township earlier this month on Interstate 81 reportedly fled the scene after he realized that he had run over a motorcyclist.

A 46 year old motorcyclist was operating a Kawasaki Vulcan motorcycle in the right lane of I-81 traveling north. For some reason, he then lost control of his motorcycle and veered off the roadway. According to police, the motorcycle then fell over on its side and slid back into the right lane of the highway. It was then that the tractor trailer ran over the motorcyclist. According to reports, the driver did stop briefly, but then quickly fled the scene after realizing what had happened.

The motorcycle rider, who was wearing a helmet at the time of the collision, was pronounced dead at the scene by the Lebanon County Coroner’s office.

8 Vehicle Accident in Anne Arundel Results in at Least 3 Deaths

September 13, 2013 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Late last month, Anne Arundel County Police responded to a multiple vehicle crash at MD Route 3 South near the MD Route 32 overpass. The crash involved seven passenger vehicles and one commercial vehicle. It resulted in the deaths of three people, with an additional six people being to area hospitals for treatment of injuries. Two of the six injured subjects suffered possibly life-threatening injuries.

An investigation by the Anne Arundel County Police Traffic Safety Section revealed that all of vehicles involved in the crash were traveling southbound on Route 3. As the vehicles neared the MD Route 32 overpass, traffic began to slow down due local traffic conditions. The commercial truck failed to reduce its speed properly, and struck a Toyota Camry from the rear. The initial collision caused a chain reaction with the other vehicles.

The driver of the Camry was transported with with critical injuries to Shock Trauma. The Camry’s front seat passenger a 15 year old boy, was also transported to Shock Trauma in stable condition. An adult female, and 7 and 14 year old girls, all of whom were sitting in the back seat, were killed in the collision.

Driver Pleads Guilty in Tragic Truck Accident Collision Deaths

September 6, 2013 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

An Illinois trucker recently pleaded guilty to charges stemming from the accident he was involved in which left a pregnant mother, her husband, and their two children dead.

The tractor-trailer driver slammed into the back of stopped traffic on a major highway in Nebraska, instantly killing a Maryland family who was in the process of moving to California.

According to paperwork filed by the relevant County Attorney’s office, the driver agreed to a deal with prosecutors, whereby he will plead guilty to four counts of motor vehicle homicide and one count of motor vehicle homicide of an unborn fetus in exchange for prosecutors recommending an aggregate sentence of no more than 20 years.

The accident occurred when the driver failed to slow down in an area where crews were tending to an earlier fatal accident, and traffic was completely stopped. His truck plowed into the back of a Ford Mustang, which was driven by the father of the young children. The Mustang then forced the Corolla in front of him, driven by his wife, forward and then underneath the trailer of a truck that was stopped in front of her car. Both cars then burst into flames. The mother was approximately 30 weeks pregnant, and died with her husband and their two and three-year-old sons.

Tractor Trailer Collision and Fire on I-95

August 28, 2013 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Drivers traveling on Interstate 95 near the Baltimore Beltway last week may have encountered serious traffic delays in the area just south of Interstate 695, when lanes were closed due to a tractor-trailer crashing and erupting into flames.

Maryland State Police say the blaze started around three in the morning last Tuesday, after a tractor-trailer hit a disabled tow truck, which was being towed away by a second tow truck. Luckily, the driver of the tractor-trailer driver was able to get out of his vehicle before it became engulfed in flames, and no injuries were reported.

A cleanup crew from the Maryland Department of Environment Hazardous Materials responded to the scene in order to clean up some gas that had spilled on the highway. An investigation into the collision is ongoing.

National Report Released Regarding Chesapeake Bay Bridge Accident

August 21, 2013 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) released a report earlier this month regarding its findings in the investigation of the July 19 collision in which a tractor-trailer pushed another vehicle over the railing of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge. The most surprising conclusion of the report was that the driver of the tractor-trailer was on his first solo drive within the United States.

At the time of the collision, the tractor-trailer collided with a young woman’s car, sending it into another vehicle, and then over a railing. The woman’s car fell about 27 feet into 6 to 8 feet of water. The woman somehow managed to escape vehicle and swim to shore. According to reports, she was subsequently hospitalized for non-life-threatening injuries.

The report further indicated that the driver of the tractor-trailer was licensed in Canada and was a recent immigrant from Hungary to Canada. The driver emigrated as part of Canada’s Temporary Foreign worker pilot program, and was on his first drive in the United States without being paired with a more experienced driver. The report indicated that the driver had already made a delivery in Virginia and was on his way to pick up a load in Maryland when the accident occurred.

Multiple Truck Accident Kills Bel Air Man

August 16, 2013 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

A tragic accident in Abingdon left one Bel Air man dead after an early morning three-vehicle collision in Harford County.

The collision occurred at approximately 2 a.m. The preliminary report revealed that the collision occurred when a Ford pickup truck collided with the rear of a tractor trailer, which then collided into a tanker truck. The pickup truck then caught on fire before eventually stopping behind the tractor trailer.

Police reported that they believe the pickup’s speed may have played a factor in causing the crash, as both the tanker truck and tractor trailer were traveling five to ten miles per hour due to construction in the area.

Maryland Truck Driver Narrowly Escapes Injury in Guardrail Collision

August 12, 2013 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

A Maryland truck driver narrowly escaped serious injury when his tanker truck struck a guardrail in an attempt to exit a freeway for a detour.

According to the Sheriff’s department, the accident occurred at an exit where a detour is currently in place for the beginning of a construction zone on the interstate. The driver reportedly failed to make the turn at the end of the off ramp properly, which resulted in his truck striking the guardrail. Fortunately, the driver was not injured.

A Sheriff’s office spokesperson stated that the guardrail did its job, so to speak, by stopping the truck from going over the steep embankment.

While the tanker, which was filled with vegetable oil, was not damaged, the tractor sustained significant front end damage, which reportedly included a ruptured diesel fuel tank.

The accident remains under investigation. It remains unclear whether the driver was at fault for failing to make the turn adequately, or rather perhaps there was insufficient room for his truck to pass through the detour area properly.

Baltimore Box Truck Driver Killed in I-95 Accident

July 29, 2013 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Maryland State Police reported that they had identified the driver of a box truck who was killed in an accident on I-95 near the Riverside exit in Harford County Monday morning as a 21 year old man from Baltimore.

State Police said that the driver was traveling southbound on I-95 in a 2006 Sterling box truck when he lost control for unknown reasons. The accident occurred at approximately 7:50 a.m. near the Route 543 interchange, Exit 80, and no other vehicles were involved.

The driver was pronounced dead at the scene. The man’s 25 year old female passenger was reportedly flown by Police Medevac to the Maryland Shock Trauma Center for treatment of injuries from the crash. Her condition was reported as stable shortly thereafter.

The tragedy, which occurred earlier this month, was the third highway related death in Harford County since June 21. In fact, at least three major accidents occurred on Md. I-95 alone within the span of a few weeks.