Tragedy struck last week in Ste. Genevieve County: 31-year-old Larry J. “Joshua” Dye was killed in a Missouri trucking accident on Southbound I-55 near Route Y. According to reports, the July 2 accident happened when a 1995 Ford L-9000 dump truck backed over Dye, who had been collecting signs. The Missouri State Highway Patrol reports that Donald L. Wallace, the 56-year-old dump truck driver, also suffered injuries in the crash. An ambulance took him to Jefferson Regional Medical Center for treatment.
Dye was pronounced killed at the scene at 10:54 AM on Monday.
Pedestrian Vs. Truck Accidents: Not a Fair Fight
Accidents in Missouri, Illinois and elsewhere are almost always tilted “in favor of” the truck and against lighter vehicles and pedestrians. Statistics show this clearly. This isn’t to say that truck drivers can’t get hurt. Consider this case, for instance. The dump truck collided with a person (not even a vehicle), and still the trucker got so severely hurt that he had to go to the hospital.
But trucks have a powerful mechanical advantage. Why? Because they can exert more force than can other vehicles (or pedestrians) due to the basic laws of physics.
Think back to your high school physics class: do you remember that the concept of Newtonian “force” was defined as an object’s mass times its acceleration (F=ma)? “Acceleration” is a fancy way of talking about how speed changes over time. To slow down a truck from 60 mph to 30 mph in 10 seconds; takes twice as much force as it does to slow that same truck from 60 mph to 30 mph in 20 seconds. This is why you “feel it” whenever you’re on an airplane and the airplane takes off… but you feel nothing when the plane cruise at 500 mph in the sky.
The force comes from the change in your velocity, not from the absolute velocity itself.
The other key component in the Newtonian equation (F=ma) is mass. Trucks are generally many times more massive than other vehicles. Hence, they can exert many times the force in an accident, all else being equal. It’s like Goliath arm-wrestling David: odds are always on Goliath.
Cleaning Up the Mess After a Missouri Truck Accident
Given the complex physics and dynamics of even simple seeming Missouri/Illinois auto accidents, it may behoove you to get in touch with an experienced legal team. You may need to investigate those dynamics to put together a plan to obtain compensation for your lost wages, injuries, loss of consortium, and other damages.
Look to the team here at Carey, Danis and Lowe for assistance. Call us at 800-721-2519 for a free case evaluation.
