A grandmother and her grandchild in central Missouri ended up in the hospital after a crash with a large truck, the Daily Guide of Waynesville reported. This was actually the second truck accident to happen Dec. 3 along the eastbound side of Interstate 44. In the first accident, a semi truck jackknifed, blocking both lanes but causing no injuries.
To avoid that crash, Verne Massey of St. Robert pulled over to the side of the road, with her grandchild, Page Massey, in the car. As they waited, a second semi slipped on water in the road and slid into their Ford Escort, knocking it off the road and into a rock bluff. Fortunately, the Masseys were not seriously hurt, although they were taken to the hospital, and the truck driver was unharmed. However, their car was totaled, according to the article.
This accident is a good example of the unfair but very real physics affecting an accident between a large truck and a passenger car. A truck can weigh 80,000 pounds or more; a Ford Escort weighs about 2,500 pounds. Because the force each vehicle brings to an accident is determined by its weight, this severe mismatch means the truck can do serious damage to a car in a truck-car collision.
For the people inside, this can mean death or very serious injuries, including severe burns, spinal damage and head injuries. In fact, the vast majority of trucking accident fatalities are the deaths of people outside the truck — occupants of passenger vehicles, pedestrians, cyclists and others. Statistics from the federal Department of Transportation show that just 6% of deaths in multi-vehicle truck crashes in 2007 were the deaths of the truckers themselves.
Unfortunately, the laws of physics don’t care who was actually at fault for the accident. Even if the victims are properly stopped in an emergency lane, like the victims in this accident, they’re still susceptible to very serious injuries in a crash with a tractor-trailer. That’s why federal law, and the laws of Missouri and Illinois, strictly regulate who may drive a large truck and how. When truck drivers break these laws and a death or serious injury results, victims the trucker and his or her trucking company are legally and financially responsible.
Carey, Danis & Lowe has helped many victims collect compensation for the financial costs of their accidents, such as repairs and hospital bills, as well as compensation for a permanent disability or a loved one taken too soon. Based in St. Louis and Belleville, Ill., we represent clients throughout Missouri and southern Illinois. If you or someone you love is a victim of a trucking accident and you’d like to learn more about your rights at a free consultation, please contact us online today.
