A large semi truck striking anything is dangerous, but a tractor-trailer colliding with another tractor-trailer can be especially calamitous. Recently, in Augusta County, Virginia, a fatal rear-end collision occurred and claimed the life of a 55-year-old man. The tractor trailer accident played out on Interstate 81 on June 11.
Virginia state police say that the two tractor-trailers were both traveling south on I-81. The one in front slowed down for traffic, but the one behind, apparently, failed to decrease its speed as well. The resulting crash caused the second semi truck to jackknife, and its driver died on the scene. Fortunately, no other drivers were injured in this incident.
As this case makes clear, even truck drivers are not immune to the mistakes of other truck drivers, or their own. One error in judgment, or a few moments of distracted driving, can claim a truck driver’s own life or someone else’s. Recently, in the nearby District of Columbia, where countless Northern Virginians spend their work weeks, a dump truck struck a female pedestrian and dragged her until a bystander intervened.
On June 6, the dump truck struck the woman at 6th Street and Indiana Northwest. The accident caused serious injuries. A witness reported hearing the terrifying screams of the woman, and the bystander who stepped-in to stop the truck noted the driver barely seemed aware of what was going on. Following that truck accident, the woman was conscious and breathing, but the victim was still seriously hurt.
A semi truck accident can take a life or alter one dramatically. Often, these types of accidents do both. While the emotional destruction they cause can’t be cleanly taken care of, there are legal remedies for the financial harm done and the pain and suffering caused by such incidents. In civil court, a victim or a victim’s family may move forward with holding a negligent or reckless driver accountable. This can be accomplished through a personal injury suit for non-fatal accidents and wrongful death suits for fatal crashes.
Source: NBC 29, “Police investigate fatal I-81 tractor-trailer crash,” June 11, 2014
