A major traffic accident near the Chicago neighborhood of Highland Park claimed the life of a semi truck driver. 51-year-old Richard Stolt of Cleveland, Minnesota, was driving through the northern side of the suburb around 10:30 on Wednesday night when the accident happened. The collision ended up involving another semi truck and four other vehicles on the road. Stolt was severely injured in the impact and died as a result of the trauma to his body.
All the drivers of the other vehicles, including the other semi truck driver, were injured in the collision, as well, though the injuries appear to be minor and everyone is expected to recover in time.
Authorities still aren’t sure what caused the accident.
Regardless of cause, the truck accident was apparently very difficult to clean up. According to reports from authorities in the area, traffic in Highland Park was still experiencing delays and backups as late as Thursday morning. Whether this was due to wreckers or recovery vehicles being unable to get to the scene or some other cause is unclear at this time.
More than anything, the extent of the accident and the lack of details even days later show how chaotic these accidents can be. This was very near a suburban residential area, and yet there are few witnesses who can explain just what happened in the accident. There is as yet no official report despite several days of investigation.
Despite the lack of details, the case still shows what we have been arguing all along: Semi trucks are dangerous for other drivers to be around. Even the driver of another semi was injured in this collision, as were four other drivers. Few accidents involve five other vehicles besides the first one, but multiple vehicle accidents sometimes seem like the rule when a semi truck gets involved.
