One Illinois woman is dead and three other residents injured in separate tractor trailer crashes
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.
