Virginia drivers face many perils on the roads close to home. However, traveling out-of-state on busy interstates can also put local motorists at risk for fender benders and serious motor vehicle accidents. Each year, more than 5,000 motorists in the country die in accidents involving tractor trailers or other large commercial vehicles. The end result of such a catastrophic collision is often serious injury or tragically, even death.
Late on the night of August 25, a semi-truck ran into the back of a passenger car, causing a fiery catastrophe that took the lives of two involved. One of those who died as a result of the truck accident was a 50-year-old woman from Monroe, Virginia. She had been sleeping in the truck that rear-ended the car on Interstate 40, near the town of Santa Rosa in eastern. New Mexico.
The truck crash also involved a third vehicle, another truck that was slammed by the first.
Initial reports indicate that the first truck overturned after hitting the car and then veering into oncoming traffic, when it hit the second truck. After turning over, the first truck became engulfed in a sudden fire.
That vehicle’s driver was the 52-year-old husband of the Virginia woman, also from Monroe. While he survived the harrowing ordeal, the driver of the car did not. The day after the crash, police identified the car’s driver as a 71-year-old from Colorado.
The Virginia man sustained a broken leg as well as serious burns, and has sought treatment at a hospital. The driver of the second truck, fortunately, escaped the crash without serious injuries.
Whether for work or for late-summer vacation plans, Virginians have little choice but to use the often busy roadways to reach their destination. With tractor trailers also using these expressways, drivers can never be too vigilant.
Source: KOB Eyewitness News 4, “Colorado man, Virginia woman dead in Santa Rosa crash,” Aug. 26, 2012
