An 18-wheeler traveling along Nevada’s Highway 395 failed to stop and caused a multiple car crash, resulting in several injuries.
According to witnesses at the scene and the Nevada Highway Patrol, the trucker in question did attempt to brake, but was unable to stop his vehicle before it crashed into both a green Honda and a green Ford Explorer. The Explorer then was forced into an adjacent Chevy and a dump truck, with the Chevy van going on to crash into another vehicle. The Honda was knocked into the back of a nearby BMW.
The most frightening aspect of the accident was also one of the most surprising. The Explorer ultimately ended up sandwiched, facing sideways, between the dump truck and the front of the semi truck. Rescue crews at the scene confessed to being very surprised when the driver was pulled from the vehicle, initially having expected him to be in severe or critical condition, in fair condition and expected to recover quickly. According to a rescue officer on scene, this was a surprise given how crushed the vehicle itself was.
Multiple victims of the trucking accident were, however, airlifted or ambulanced out to nearby hospitals in Reno because of the injuries suffered. The exact extent of their injuries is unknown at this time.
Ultimately, the crash involved seven vehicles and eleven motorists by the time it stopped. The combination of crashed vehicles and the on-scene investigation by the Nevada Highway Patrol locked down both of Highway 395’s southbound lanes for several hours. This required NDOT personnel to reroute traffic onto nearby roads until about 5 p.m.
The accident ones again illustrates the potential hazards of sharing a road, particularly a road with fewer than three lanes, with a semi truck. Even when they’re aware an accident is coming, semi drivers may not be able to stop their vehicle in time, and the collision is very likely to involve more than two vehicles.
