Just like any other vehicle on the road, a semi truck need not involve any other vehicles in a wreck in order to cause injuries. Such was the case in Washington State recently, just outside the city of Vancouver, Washington. Driver Sydney J. Hall, a 61 year old resident of Lake Stevens, was driving eastbound on State Road 14, heading for the southbound lanes of Interstate 205. He took his truck around the curve so quickly that he lost control of the vehicle, and the semi truck rolled over and crashed. Hall and his passenger, 56 year old Karen Hall, were both injured in the crash. Both were taken to Peace Health Southwest Medical Center. Sydney Hall suffered cuts and abrasions, while Karen was treated for a broken collarbone and chips in her neckbones.
Again, there were no other vehicles involved in the accident. Hall was simply driving his truck too fast when he came to a curve. However, unlike a smaller vehicle, a semi is massive and difficult to control. It is made up of two parts, not just one: the trailer and the cab itself. The trailer doesn’t always respond at the same time as the cab, leading to control difficulties in a sharp turn. Even without a trailer, the cab has a very high center of gravity, meaning it is more prone to roll in a sharp turn.
Drivers are urged to be extremely cautious around semi trucks and their drivers. Simply going too fast through a turn can lead to a truck rolling over and injuring people. In this case, only the semi was involved in the accident, but it does not take too much to imagine additional vehicles being involved as a truck careens around the highway.
