Missouri Truck Accident Lawyer Blog

David Underdale, 61, and Jeremy Imler, 33, were both seriously injured after the Freightliner dump trucks they were driving collided head-on.

The accident occurred Saturday on Highway 24 in Randolph County, Missouri when, according to a Missouri State Highway Patrol report, a passenger car drove into the path of Underdale’s truck. In order to avoid a potentially fatal truck crash with a passenger car, Underdale swerved to the left. Unfortunately, he lost control of his truck and it veered into oncoming traffic where it collided with Imler’s dump truck.

The passenger car was not listed as damaged on the initial crash report and no other information appears to be known about this third vehicle.

Imler and Underdale survived the accident, but with life-threatening injuries. They were flown to University Hospital in Columbia, Missouri.

Without further investigation into the role of the third car, it is hard to determine who is truly at fault for this Missouri injury accident. The crash report seems to indicate that the third vehicle made a negligent maneuver which caused Underdale to crash, but that is just the opinion of the investigating officer and will need to be backed up by an accident reconstruction. A Missouri personal injury lawyer would be able to coordinate with local investigators to determine who is responsible for this incident and possibly recover damages for the injured parties.

Two accidents involving tractor trailers over the past few days have affected the lives of residents in Illinois.

The first and most tragic incident was the death of an Illinois woman who was riding on a motorcycle Saturday near Binghamton, N.Y. While the name of the 57-year-old woman has not been released, local media has reported that she was riding on the back of a motorcycle with a man named David Minter, 52, also a resident of Illinois. According to a WCAX.com report, Minter had to swerve to avoid a collision with a trash can that had been left in the road. As he did so, the bike slid out of control and into the path of a tractor trailer.

The woman was pronounced dead, though Minter managed to survive the tractor trailer crash without sustaining life-threatening injuries.

Debris left in the roadway can be a very dangerous hazard that causes many personal injuries and accidents each year. If the person responsible for losing the debris is ever found, they could be held liable for negligently leaving an obstacle in the roadway. Unfortunately, most of the debris found on the nation's highways does not have any distinguishing characteristics that allow investigators to trace the owner. If the trash can in this situation does have some identifying marks, a personal injury attorney may be able to further pursue damages from the person who left it in the road. Much more investigation into the specifics of this crash has to be done before that is a possibility.

The second accident involving a tractor trailer took place Thursday in St. Charles, Ill. at the intersection of East Main Street and Kautz Road. A St. Charles Republican report said that a tractor trailer, driven by Brent Collins Cooper, 51, failed to stop at the traffic light and crashed into a Ford pickup truck that was in the intersection. The driver of the pickup thankfully just suffered relatively minor injuries. The tractor trailer driver was also fortunate to not have any life threatening injuries, though he was treated for broken ribs at a local hospital.

Traffic was stopped for two hours while officials towed the vehicles and cleared the streets.

Cooper was issued a citation for failing to obey traffic laws and not wearing a seat belt.

A Texas man was killed Sunday when his motorcycle hit a semi-tractor near Arlington, Texas.

The man, whose name was not yet released, crashed into the semi on Interstate 20 in Texas. He was thrown from his bike and crossed the median where he was found and pronounced dead at the scene.

The driver of the truck, which was not hauling a trailer at the time of the fatal motorcycle accident, was treated for non-life threatening injuries.

Often a personal injury or wrongful death lawsuit involving a motorcycle crash will occur because the other vehicles on the road will not see the smaller motorcycle and cut it off or run it off the roadway. Still other times the motorcyclist may have been making a dangerous maneuver and caused the accident himself. Personal injury attorneys and trained professionals should be contacted to investigate these accidents to see if a negligent action caused the injury.

In the case of the Texas crash, investigators had shut down the highway to gather evidence and try to determine the cause of the crash. It is not known at this time who was at fault in this particular case.

Working as a St. Louis personal injury lawyer, you hear a lot of tragic stories from people that have been victims of an injury accident or lost a loved one to someone else’s negligence. Tractor trailer crashes in particular cause the most devastating injuries to the passengers of non-commercial vehicles. While legal representation from a tractor trailer accident attorney may be able to recover damages after a crash, it’s always best to avoid these accidents all together.

When driving near a large commercial truck you have to respect its size and lack of maneuverability. They are just not as quick as smaller passenger cars. When hauling tens of thousands of pounds, they can’t exactly stop on a dime either. Give them plenty of space on the highway and if at all possible, don’t ride directly in front, behind, or to the sides of the truck.

Always think a step ahead if you have to drive past a truck. What lanes are open if the truck driver doesn’t see you and tries to merge into your lane? If the truck starts to jackknife, should you slam on your brakes or is there space to maneuver around the side? Always be game planning different situations in your head. Most of the time you won’t need to use these evasive maneuvers, but there’s always a chance you might have to.

It’s also a good idea to show the truck driver respect. It is a challenge to keep these large vehicles under control and they have to have constant concentration to avoid a fatal tractor trailer accident. Don’t get angry if you are stuck behind a truck for a couple of minutes and try to blow past him the second an opening appears. This may put you in a dangerous situation.

Most truck drivers do an admirable job, but the ones that aren’t as focused can cause serious problems. The average passenger car driver is not at fault in 4 out of 5 tractor trailer accidents involving other cars, though they are often the one to sustain injury. Use these tips and others you might find from highway safety guides to try and protect yourself from personal injury.

A New Jersey man suffered serious injury Tuesday after he was hit by a tractor trailer while he was riding a motorcycle.

The accident occurred just before 8 a.m. as Joseph Granuzzo, 47, rode his motorcycle in Wharton, New Jersey. A tractor trailer, driven by David Zack, 30, crashed into the motorcycle as it drove on the North Street Extension.

Granuzzo was airlifted to a local hospital with serious leg injuries. Zack was uninjured in the tractor trailer accident.

Zack was issued a summons by the police for careless driving.

Since the truck driver was issued a summons by the investigating officer, it would appear likely that he is at fault for Granuzzo’s injuries. If a truck accident lawyer is called in to do further investigation, he may be able to recover damages for Granuzzo. Just the opinion of the investigating officer is not enough, however, and an experienced personal injury lawyer will collect more data such as the truck driver’s log books and any accident reconstruction reports.

A tractor trailer crashed into a line of cars in a construction work zone and killed three people on Interstate 35 near Gainesville, Texas.

The fatal tractor trailer accident occurred at an area where the highway is reduced to one lane due to construction on a bridge. A line of cars had stopped because of the construction, but the tractor trailer, driven by James Crayton, 59, did not even slow down before slamming into the back of the last car.

The first car hit, containing passengers Anthony and Kimberly Brandon, exploded upon impact. Both passengers were killed.

The big rig then plowed through two more cars and sandwiched one between it and another tractor trailer. Darryl Hoosier, 55, was driving this car and was killed instantly. The driver of the other tractor trailer was uninjured.

An investigation into the tractor trailer crash is ongoing. Crayton was taken in by authorities for a mandatory blood test and questioning, but no charges have yet been filed. No indication was made by the investigating officers as to what may have distracted Crayton or caused him to crash into the line of cars.

This fatal trucking accident sounds very similar to a crash that we commented on here in the St. Louis area last year. A tractor trailer driver was distracted by his cell phone and crashed into a line of cars that was backed up due to construction on Highway 40. Three people were killed and a total of 11 vehicles were involved in that accident. Charges against the driver were filed earlier this year.

Gary and Tracey Smith of New Bethlehem, Pennsylvania were killed Saturday when a tractor-trailer crossed the median and crashed into their car.

This fatal tractor trailer crash occurred on State Route 22 in Blair County, Pennsylvania at around 3:30 p.m. The tractor trailer was heading eastbound and, for an unknown reason, crossed the median into the westbound lanes.

Gary and Tracey Smith were pronounced dead at the scene. Their 8-year-old child, Sam, was seriously injured and taken to Children’s Hospital in Pittsburgh. The truck driver, Gregory D. Nagy, did not suffer serious injury.

Pennsylvania state police are still investigating the cause of the crash and will perform a reconstruction to try and determine why the tractor trailer suddenly veered into oncoming traffic.

If it is determined that there was negligence on the part of the truck driver or the trucking company, the family of the deceased may be able to recover damages to pay for funeral expenses and other costs related to this tragedy.

A personal injury attorney should be contacted immediately so that all the evidence from the current investigation is preserved. A useful tool in determining whether any motor carrier violations were neglected is the driver’s log book. It will be able to show whether the driver was operating his tractor trailer on short rest or if he had it serviced by a certified mechanic before the crash. These logs are only required to be kept for a limited amount of time so a trucking accident lawyer needs to obtain them as soon as possible.

The Bradley Law Firm, based in St. Louis, handles tractor trailer accidents nationwide and has over 30 years of experience working on personal injury cases related to the trucking industry.