Articles Posted in Truck Accidents

A 53-year-old Volusia County, Florida woman died Friday after she drove into a cement truck. The Florida Highway Patrol said she allegedly stopped at a stop sign before rolling her 2011 Nissan into a cement mixer that trapped and killed her at the scene.

The cement truck was driven by a 38-year-old Daytona Beach man. Troopers said that they do not expect to file charges against the man.

An investigation will ensue to determine why the woman barreled into traffic before the intersection was clear.

According to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, in 2010 more than 10 percent of all traffic accidents involved commercial vehicles and accounted for an estimated 4 percent of automobile accidents with injuries. In 2008, 4,545 people suffered fatalities with large commercial trucks and buses. Last year, large commercial trucks and buses took the lives of 3, 619 people and injured another 93,000.

Big-rigs, tractor-trailers, semis and any other large truck can weigh up to 80,000 pounds. Once a large truck collides with a smaller vehicle that is not engineered to withstand an impact that large, the result is usually tragic. If the collision does not result in death, the injuries sustained are usually quite catastrophic leaving the victim with crushed limbs, traumatic brain injuries, paralysis, ruptured internal organs and variety of other injuries.

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An 80-year-old Hernando County resident was rushed to Spring Hill Regional Hospital for treatment of a critical injury. The local news is reporting that this Central Florida octogenarian was driving his 1984 Datsun pickup truck on County Line Road (Hernando County side) and drifted in the westbound lane (Pasco County side) causing a head-on collision with a tractor-trailer.

The news reports that the driver of the truck was not wearing a seatbelt, yet was uninjured in the serious motor vehicle crash. Generally a truck accident of this magnitude this will make an immediate impact on insurance policies. Obviously, if the driver of the work truck was engaged in some kind of employment and interesting legal scenario can evolve whereby he may have both a workers’ compensation claim with his employer’s policy, but also have a simple auto negligence claim for the actions of the 1984 Datsun. In other words, after the workers’ compensation claim is completed, the automobile insurance policies can distribute appropriate compensation for the pain and suffering that went unreimbursed during the workers’ compensation claim.

Often times, drivers involved in such a serious accident may be “uninjured” only to learn later of chronic neck and back pain. The reason for this is different in every case but commonly you will find that: 1) The Emergency Room doctors do an exceptionally poor job of determining levels of pain if it is abundantly clear that no life threatening injuries are apparent; 2) After a big collision the human body does an amazing job of masking pain to help cope with the situation; and 3) When another person is very seriously hurt, your injuries, although serious, may seem relatively minor.

Florida Highway Patrol has reported to the Ocala Star Banner that a 27-year-old man has died as a result of losing control of his vehicle in Marion County. FHP reports that the man’s 2000 Nissan pickup truck was headed south on County Road 314A near Southeast 65th lane when he lost control, struck a tree and was ejected.

Reportedly the man was flown to Gainesville, where officials at Shands University of Florida Hospital pronounced the young man dead. FHP has concluded the young man was not wearing his seatbelt. It is unknown at the time of this post whether or not any other cars witnessed the crash, if others were involved in the turn, or have an estimate as to the driver’s speed before allegedly losing control.

Marion County and Ocala have incurred 30 traffic-related fatalities this year. Thirty traffic homicides would suggest that we are on pace to see fewer deaths, as 2008 reportedly had 96 traffic fatalities. However, summer and the holiday season are still in fornt of us and these are the times when alcohol and youngsters, which are out of school, collide with sometimes drastic results.

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