In January, as a southern Illinois semi truck accident attorney, I wrote here about a rear-end truck accident that killed a father, a son and the son’s pregnant girlfriend. Truck driver Robert Carmona, 37, is accused of rear-ending a car driven by Frank Weber, 56, of De Soto, Missouri as Weber was stopped at an intersection. The crash killed Weber and Bonne Terre residents Aaron Weber, 20, and Rachel Sharp, 18. On April 19, KDSK reported that a judge ruled that there’s enough evidence against Carmona, a New York resident, to go to trial. A trial date will be set at a hearing next month; Carmona is being held on $300,000 bail.
Frank Weber was stopped at an intersection on Highway 67 when the crash took place. Around 1:30 p.m., Carmona’s tractor-trailer slammed into the back end of their Ford Crown Victoria. None was wearing a seat belt. The crash pushed both the car and the big rig several hundred feet away and off the side of the road. All three were pronounced dead at the scene. Carmona was not hurt. After the crash, reports said he was driving with a suspended license at the time, with court filings indicated that his license had been suspended for stealing fuel. When Carmona is tried, he will face three counts of involuntary manslaughter as well as one count of driving with a revoked license.
As a St. Louis 18-wheeler accident lawyer, I am especially interested in the suspended license. No trucking company should hire a driver without a license, but a few unscrupulous companies prefer to save a little money by hiring these unqualified drivers on the cheap. When the license was suspended for safety reasons, this practice puts everyone on the road, including the unlicensed trucker, in danger. Stealing fuel is not exactly a safety issue, of course, but it does raise questions about what else Carmona might be willing to do. When trucking companies knowingly break the law, or intentionally turn a blind eye to drivers’ law-breaking, they may be legally and financially liable for any accidents that result.
Carey, Danis & Lowe has a special focus on Mack truck accidents because they are among the deadliest of traffic crashes. No car wreck is good news, but when trucks hit cars, the greater weight and force they bring to the crash nearly guarantees serious damage to the car and its occupants. The result can be death or serious, permanent disabilities like brain damage. Often, this can be financially devastating as well as emotionally devastating for families of the victims, which may lose an income unexpectedly while facing huge medical bills. Our Missouri tractor-trailer accident attorneys help families like this collect fair compensation for their damages and costs, so they can get the medical care they need, make ends meet and begin to heal.
If someone in your family has been hurt in an accident with a commercial truck driver you think was being operated in an unsafe way, you should call Carey, Danis & Lowe for help right away. To set up a free, confidential case evaluation, send us a message through our website or call us toll-free at 1-877-678-3400.
