In a rather frightening turn of events, there has been a glut of fatal truck accidents in the past few weeks. Just this Wednesday, three Marine Corps recruits died in a multi-vehicle accident near Leavittsburg, Ohio. http://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2010/04/01/Ohio-pileup-kills-three-USMC-recruits/UPI-12991270137784/
The three victims were headed to Cleveland to take a military exam when they became part of a fatal pileup in Warren Township, Ohio, on State Route 5.
All three Marine recruits were in the back seat of a Pontiac when a semi-truck hit the rear of their vehicle at an intersection near Leavittsburg. Then several other cars plowed into them.
The three victims were Zachery Nolan, 19, of Newton Falls, Joshua Sherbourne, 21, of Southington, and Michael Theodore Jr., 19, of Warren.
The driver of the Pontiac, Marine Sgt. Charles Keene, and his front-seat passenger were taken to a hospital for treatment.
Of course, last week there was the horrific accident where a semi-truck crashed into a van in Kentucky filled with a Mennonite family on its way to a wedding in Iowa. That accident left 11 people dead.
Also last week, a dump truck plowed into a group of motorcyclists on Carefree Highway in Phoenix. Eight motorcycles were stopped at a red light last Friday when a sanitation truck slammed into them. Four people died from injuries sustained in that crash. http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/2010/03/26/20100326phoenix-motorcycle-crash-folo0326.html
Motorcyclists Clyde Nachand, 67, Stephen Punch, 52, and Daniel Butler, 35, died at the scene. A fourth victim, Dayle Veronica Downs-Totonchi, 47, died at a hospital a day after the crash.
The dump truck’s driver, Ernie Lizarraga, had surgery performed and was in serious condition.
A witness who talked to Lizarraga after the crash, Walgreen employee Tania Krukoff, told The Arizona Republic that the driver was in shock,
“He told me he wasn’t paying attention, just shuffling with his paperwork,” Krukoff told The Republic. “