Maryland Trucking Accident Lawyer Blog

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.

Maryland resident John Robert Short, a tractor-trailer driver, died, in a deadly three-motor vehicle crash on the Bay Bridge on Sunday morning after his truck fell into the Chesapeake Bay. The Maryland Transportation Authority Police say that this is the first time in the bridge’s 56-year history that a motor vehicle has fallen off the bridge into the water. The deadly accident caused major traffic delays all day on Sunday on both sides of US 50, and traffic continued to be slow on Monday morning.

Also involved in the crash were a Toyota Prius and a Chevrolet Camaro. Two people in the Camaro were taken to Maryland Shock Trauma Center for treatment. The two people in the Prius did not sustain any injuries.

The deadly crash happened before 4am on Sunday when two-way traffic was being directed on the eastbound span (the westbound span was closed for repairs). Short’s tractor-trailer slammed into the jersey wall, leaving a 10-15 foot opening, before falling at least 30 feet into the water. Police have yet to give their account of what happened during the crash.

The driver of the Prius, Seung Won Hong, gave his account of the crash to the newspaper the Baltimore Sun. Hong says that the Camaro and the truck collided, causing the tractor-trailer to spin out of control and strike Hong’s car before it crashed into the wall.

Gary McLhinney, a former Transportation Authority Police Chief, says that two-way traffic on a single span “has the potential to be disastrous.” At this point, however, authorities have no way of knowing whether two-way traffic helped cause the deadly crash.

Regina Averella, an AAA Mid-Atlantic spokesperson says that most deadly crashes on the Bay Bridge have happened when two-way traffic was in effect. In May 2007, five people got hurt and three people died in a seven-vehicle collision that took place in two-way traffic on the westbound span.

Driver dies as truck plunges off Bay Bridge, BaltimoreSun.com, August 11, 2008
Truck Driver Dies In Bay Bridge Crash, Washington Post, August 11, 2008

Related Web Resource:

Bay Bridge, Maryland Transportation Authority

Please contact our Baltimore motor vehicle crash law firm if you or someone you love was injured in an auto accident that was caused by another party’s negligence.

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A new safety study is reporting that there are hundreds of thousands of tractor-trailer operators and bus drivers in the United States with commercial driver’s licenses even though they suffer from medical conditions that could cause them to have seizures, blackouts, heart attacks, or experience other major health issues while driving. As a result, hundreds of injuries and deaths have occurred because some of these medically unfit drivers experienced health emergencies while on the road. The study was obtained and reported on by the Associated Press.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, which is in charge of disciplining unfit drivers, says it hasn’t completed any of the recommendations that US safety regulators proposed 7 years ago. Recommendations included barring truck drivers from “doctor shopping,” which allows them to find a doctor that would ignore or not notice that the driver suffered from a health condition, and establishing a minimum truck standard that officials can work with to determine when a truck driver is no longer medically safe to get behind the wheel.

The latest information gathered by the Transportation Department in 2006 showed that there were 7.3 million commercial driver violations, and truckers in violation of federal medical rules were apprehended in every US State. Maryland was one of the 12 US states with drivers having the most sanctions for violating these rules.

A 2007 federal safety study found that drivers falling asleep or becoming physically impaired while on the road were among the leading causes of serious truck accidents.

A driver that experiences a seizure, a heart attack, or a fainting spell while behind the wheel can pose a serious danger to motorists and other pedestrians. That driver will likely be unable to stay in control of the vehicle, which can lead to serious motor vehicle collisions and pedestrian accidents.

A Congressional hearing is scheduled this week to examine recent findings related to why it is easy for many unfit truckers and bus drivers to continue working without having to deal with disciplinary repercussions. Prevention recommendations will be assessed.

The impact of being struck by an out-of-control bus or truck can lead to catastrophic consequences for victims. In Maryland and Washington DC, our truck crash lawyers can determine whether a truck driver or trucking company was negligent in causing the motor vehicle accident that resulted in your injuries.

Medically unfit truck drivers still on roads, AP, July 21, 2008

Center for National Truck and Bus Statistics

Related Web Resources:

Truck Safety Coalition

Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration

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A 22-year-old woman died in Washington DC on Tuesday morning while riding her bicycle to work. Alice Swanson was run over by a garbage truck on R Street NW close to Dupont Circle.

The truck belongs to KMG Hauling Inc. The driver of the truck, Marco Rosendo Flores Fuentes, reportedly did not see Swanson, who was making a left turn. No charges have been filed against him, and the Metropolitan Police Major Crash Investigation Unit is continuing to investigate the fatal bicycle-truck crash.

Swanson was a program associate at the International Research and Exchange Board. Her death is the first bicyclist fatality in Washington DC this year.

According to research found on Massbike.org’s Bicycle Crash Statistics page, common bicycle-motorist crash scenarios involve:

• The driver merging into the path of the bicyclist.
• The bicyclist merging into the motorist’s path.
• The driver trying to overtake the bicyclist.
• The driver neglecting to yield the right of way.

• The bicyclist failing to yield the right of way.

Common causes of bicycle collisions:

• Speeding
• Driver inattention
• Defective bicycle or motor vehicle
• Drunk driving
• Negligence

Our Maryland and Washington DC bicycle accident lawyers are experienced in proving when a bicycle accident is caused by a negligent motorist or another liable party. You may be entitled to financial compensation for your injuries, pain and suffering, medical expenses, or the loss of your loved one.

Bicyclist killed in garbage-truck crash, Examiner.com, July 9, 2008
Bicycle Crash Statistics, Massbike.org

Related Web Resources:

Bicycle Crash Facts, Bicyclinginfo.org
General Pedestrian Statistics, Walkinginfo.org

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A 26-year-old Maryland motorcyclist is reportedly in critical condition at Baltimore Shock Trauma center after being run over by a tractor-trailer. Jeff Vilkas, a television production assistant, was riding a motorcycle going westbound on Halfway Boulevard near Stotler Rd. in Hagerstown when the accident happened.

Vilkas, who has two children, was initially transported to Washington County Hospital before being flown to Shock Trauma. The tractor-trailer driver has been charged with several citations, in addition to negligent driving.

2006 Maryland Truck Crash Statistics:

1,978 fatal crashes
907 injury crashes

Common Causes of Truck Accidents:

• Driver fatigue. Despite the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s mandate that truck drivers operate their trucks for a set amount of hours a time, not all drivers abide by this ruling
• Drunk driving
• Truck Driver Mistakes and Negligence, including speeding, failure to properly maintain the truck, and carelessness

Many truck companies will send people to the accident scene right away to act to limit liability. They may even persuade an injury victim to sign documents that could affect his or her ability to file an injury lawsuit later on.

It is important that you work with a Maryland truck crash law firm that knows how to deal with the complex issues that arise with tractor-trailer accident claims and lawsuits, and our truck collision lawyers will protect your right to recovery.

NBC25 Production Assistant Hit And Run Over While Riding Motorcycle; Sent To Shock Truama, MSNBC.com, June 26, 2008

Crash Statistics

Related Web Resources:

Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration

Truck Safety Coalition

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