Series of Truck Accidents Leave a Trail of Deaths

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Posted on 5th April 2010 by gjohnson in Uncategorized

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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. “

Truck Company Involved in Deadly Kentucky Crash Had Bad Safety Rating

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Posted on 1st April 2010 by gjohnson in Uncategorized

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We guess this shouldn’t come as a surprise: The Alabama company whose truck was involved in a Kentucky crash that killed 11 people, mostly members of a Mennonite family, has lousy safety grades from federal regulators. http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hLwSxXtdifP0CI2hAcp3nu-NSl-QD9EPPJ7O0

According to the Associated Press, Hester Inc. had received a “deficient” rating of 88.4, with 100 being the worse score, from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. That low grade was based on inspections of 30 drivers during the past 30 months.

A Hester tractor-trailer truck driven by Kennenth Laymon, 45, of Jasper, Ala., went over a median on Interstate 65 Friday and hit a van carrying a Mennonite family to a wedding in Iowa. Ten people in the 15-seat van were killed, as was Laymon.

Laymon’s truck had been cited for problems with its brakes, lights and brakes during six inspections since 2008, according to AP.

An official with the American Trucking Association maintained that Hester should not have been in business operating based on its low safety score.

What the point of having safety testing if companies that don’t past muster are still allowed to have their trucks on the road?

Tuesday Was Death Day in Indiana, With Eight Killed in Car Crashes

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Posted on 27th February 2010 by gjohnson in Uncategorized

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Tuesday was a fatal day in northern Indiana, with vehicular accidents killing eight people.
http://www.southbendtribune.com/article/20100224/News01/100229672/1130&Template;=printpicart

In one of the crashes in South Bend, a Cadillac traveling east in on Indiana 2, turning left on Quince Road, was hit by a semi-truck. There was a family in the car. A male passenger in the front seat died at the scene. The driver, with severe injuries, and three children were sent to Memorial Hospital.

The truck driver was taken to the hospital for testing.

In a second accident Tuesday, three people lost their lives when a Chevy Cobalt driving on U.S. 36 crossed a median and flew into the air, hitting a GMC Envoy in LaPorte County.

The driver of the Cobalt, 72-year-old Billy Gene Hamblin of Kingsford Heights, Ind., and a passenger in the Envoy, 38-year-old Amy Klein of Columbia City, Ind., died instantly. The driver of the Envoy, 63-year-old Lloyd Klein of Columbia City, died at Memorial Hospital. Another passenger from the Envoy, Kathy Klein, was in critical condition.

In the third fatal crash, two students from West Noble High School died in unrelated accidents on U.S. 33 in Noble County, Ind. Amanda Musser, 18, was driving on U.S. 33 when she went off the highway and hit a pole. Musser, who wasn’t wearing a seat belt, was dead at the scene.

Then 18-year-old Brandon Replogle was driving on U.S. 33 when he was hit by a truck. He was killed in the crash.

Finally, two people died in an accident on Interstate 65 when a SUV struck a semi-truck between Lowell and Roselawn. The SUV’s passengers were killed instantly. The semi’s driver, 54-year-old John Taylor of Greenwood, Ind., wasn’t injured.

Arizona Woman Killed When Crash Turns Her Car Into A Fireball

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Posted on 2nd February 2010 by gjohnson in Uncategorized

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A Phoenix mother was killed Sunday morning in a crash on I-10 when a truck hit her disabled car, turning it into a fireball and trapping her, according to several published reports.
http://www.justicenewsflash.com/2010/02/02/fatal-crash-i10-left-woman-dead-blazing-vehicle-fire_201002023205.html

Olga Sanchez Torres, 44, was pronounced dead at the scene. Torres’ car broke down and stopped in the westbound lane of I-10 near 35th Street.

A truck hit her vehicle from behind, and the car exploded in flames. Although witnesses tried to open the doors of Torres’ burning vehicle, they could not get the woman out the car. She remained trapped inside as the car went totally into flames.

Authorities were conducting an investigation of the fatal accident.

Torres’ children told a local TV station that their mother was dedicated to the family, and that the 44-year-old wanted to go back to school to become a nurse.
http://www.abc15.com/content/news/phoenixmetro/central/story/Family-of-Phoenix-woman-killed-in-I-10-wreck/50XBjjgGsU6gwIiRRgh82Q.cspx

Explosive Fuel Truck Accident Kills Driver, Shuts Down Long Island Expressway For 10 Hours

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Posted on 26th January 2010 by gjohnson in Uncategorized

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A fuel tanker truck crashed and exploded into flames on the Long Island Expressway early Saturday morning, killing its driver, melting the road and an overhead sign, and shutting down the busy highway for 10 hours.

The truck was trying to avoid hitting a Dodge Neon shortly after 8 a.m., according to The New York Times http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/24/nyregion/24tanker.html?scp=1&sq;=truck%20explosion&st;=cse, and a story published online by firehouse.com: http://www.firehouse.com/topics/top-headlines/tanker-crash/fire-closes-ny-expressway, But the driver, Mujihad Shah of Brooklyn, lost control and the truck flipped over.

The tanker exploded, with its top blown off. The flames reached and melted a highway sign, which landed across all eight lanes of the expressway. The collapse of the sign threatened emergency responders and forced officials to close all eight lanes of the highway.

The asphalt at the site of the accident was “basically cooked,” one officials told The Times.

The truck driver’s body remained in the vehicle for more than four hours before it could be retrieved.

The driver of the car that the truck clipped, Marie Medina of Bayonne, N.J., was taken to Nassau University Medical Center by helicopter, according to Newsday. The Times said she sustained minor injuries.

Workers spent many hours cleaning up the wreckage, made more difficult because the 11000-gallon tanker still had 1,000 gallons of gasoline, according to the Newsday report.

Attorney Gordon Johnson
Chair Traumatic Brain Injury Litigation Group, American Association of Justice
http://subtlebraininjury.com
http://car-accident-rain.com

Trucker’s toxicology results admitted in Pa. crash

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Posted on 13th November 2008 by gjohnson in Uncategorized

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Date: 11/13/2008

BELLEFONTE, Pa. (AP) _ A judge says an expert witness may testify about toxicology test results on a truck driver involved in a fatal May 2007 accident in central Pennsylvania.

Peter Carrara’s truck struck a car that changed direction as he was overtaking it on Route 64 in Walker Township, northeast of State College. Fifty-seven-year-old Bonnie Weaver was killed.

President Judge David Grine ruled that District Attorney Michael Madeira can call an expert witness to testify that having methamphetamine in his system caused Carrara to take risks or lack adequate attention to drive safely. Carrara’s attorney, Brian Manchester, had filed a motion arguing that the expert isn’t qualified.

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Information from: Centre Daily Times, http://www.centredaily.com

Copyright 2008 The Associated Press.
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