Fatal Trucking Accidents

Baltimore Trucking Accident News: Tractor-trailer Crash Kills Husband; Critically Injures Wife in Harford, Maryland

April 7, 2010 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Trucking accidents are some of the most deadly for occupants of passenger cars, light trucks and motorcycles. From thrown tire treads to loose trailers and out-of-control semi-tractors on severe grades, a motorist who is in the wrong place at the wrong time could be seriously hurt or even killed as a result.

As a Maryland trucking accident lawyer and personal injury attorney, I am dedicated to assisting victims and their families recover damages following a devastating tractor-trailer collision. Big rigs, also known as 18-wheelers, can haul in excess of 30 tons of cargo. With that much weight traveling at highway speeds, a serious disaster is just one wrong move away.

Not long ago, the Maryland State Police reported a fatal tractor-trailer crash that took the life of a Washington man and seriously injured his wife. According to news articles, the collision occurred on Interstate 95 crash in Harford County, MD, when a semi hit the couple as they stood by the side of the road.

Baltimore, MD, Semi Truck Driver Killed in Fire following Nighttime Turnpike Crash with Chevrolet Avalanche

February 18, 2010 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Trucking accidents can result in injury to the occupants of passenger cars, as well as pedestrians and bystanders. In addition to drivers of smaller vehicles being hurt in a semi-truck or commercial vehicle accident, fatalities are not uncommon on highways, city streets and rural roads throughout Maryland. As Baltimore tractor-trailer accident lawyers, my staff has helped dozens of people who have become victims of another person’s negligence.

Occasionally, the victim of a trucking crash can be the driver of the over-the-road hauler itself. Fatal and non-life-threatening injury accidents can be the cause of driver error, as well as poorly maintained roadways, or even defective vehicle equipment. Whatever the cause, the costs are high for the victims due to the sometimes extensive medical care, lost wages or unmet financial obligations due to injury.

Not long ago, a Maryland trucker died in a horrendous semi crash and ensuing fire on the New Jersey Turnpike. The victim, 25-year-old Jovon Holmes, tragically burned to death after his truck hit a pickup, then struck a bridge abutment and burst into flames. According to news reports, witnesses at the scene said the fire was so bad that emergency personnel had a very difficult time locating and the identifying the man.

Baltimore Trucking Accident News: Maryland Tow Truck Driver Killed in Fatal Head-on Collision

January 11, 2010 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Seatbelts (or safety belts) do serve a valuable function and those who choose not to avail themselves of their protection run the risk of serious injury or even death in the event of a traffic accident. It’s not surprising that the larger the vehicle the more protected an occupant feels, however even commercial truck drivers place their lives in the hands of fate when they do not wear a seatbelt.

As a Maryland trucking accident lawyer and personal injury attorney, I understand the dangers awaiting motorists around every turn on our interstates, highways and urban streets. Whether you drive a tractor-trailer rig, panel truck, tanker or delivery vehicle, safety should be your primary concern. Trucking-related accidents can be deadly, not just for the drivers and occupants of relatively small passenger vehicles, but also to truck drivers themselves.

Not long ago, a Maryland tow truck driver lost his life in King George County when his wrecker apparently collided head-on with a pickup truck on Route 206 not far from Indiantown Road, also known as Route 610.

UPS Truck Driver Involved in Fatal Baltimore County Crash Charged with Three Violations

January 4, 2010 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Trucking accidents, due to their scale, can result in tragic and many time fatal outcomes. Such was the case in an October United Parcel Service truck crash that killed the driver of a second vehicle and injured a young passenger. As a personal injury lawyer practicing in the Baltimore area, I have helped numerous victims of trucking-related wrecks recover damages caused by another driver’s negligence.

In this case, the operator of the delivery truck has only recently been charged with several traffic offenses. Based on news reports, Baltimore County police charged 28-year-old Kevin Callahan of Owings Mills with negligent driving, failure to stop at a red signal and failure to obey a traffic device.

On October 5, 2009, Callahan was driving north on York Road when his truck broadsided a vehicle at the intersection of York and Corbett roads in Monkton, MD. The collision killed the driver, 48-year-old Tim Wheatley, and injured Wheatley’s 9-year-old daughter who was getting a ride to Sparks Elementary School. The girl was critically injured in the accident and has since been released from the hospital, according to news reports.

Maryland Named in Wrongful Death Lawsuit from Fatal 2008 Truck Crash on Chesapeake Bay Bridge

December 23, 2009 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Based on recent news stories the state of Maryland has been named in a $7 million wrongful death suit in regard to a fatal car-truck accident that occurred on the Chesapeake Bay Bridge in August 2008. Dozens of people are killed or injured every year in tractor-trailer accidents across Maryland; some of these victims are actually semi drivers themselves who have been killed or critically injured due to another person’s negligence.

As trucking accident attorneys, the legal professionals at Lebowitz & Mzhen Personal Injury Lawyers have the knowledge and experience to represent victims and their families in cases not unlike the one reported here. This time, according to news articles, the state of Maryland has been named as one of the defendants in a lawsuit growing out of a deadly traffic accident.

According to reports, a trucker died during the accident in question, which was allegedly caused by a 19-year-old woman who fell asleep while driving across the Bay Bridge. News articles at the time said that Candy Baldwin had been to a wedding earlier and apparently fell asleep while passing across the bridge. This caused a truck driver to swerve his rig to avoid crashing into the young woman’s car.

Maryland Man Killed by Tractor-trailer Rig in Fatal Pedestrian Accident on Interstate 695

December 15, 2009 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Police recently reported a tragic pedestrian death along I-695 recently when a Parkville, MD, man was attempting to cross the busy interstate on foot. The incident occurred on December 5, when an Exxon tanker truck driving along the Beltway’s Inner Loop near Harford Road came up on a man attempting to cross the roadway just before 11am on that Saturday morning. According to Maryland State Police the pedestrian apparently died at the scene after being struck by the oil company’s big rig.

As Maryland trucking accident and personal injury lawyers, we have the ability to represent the families of victims killed as a result of another person’s negligence. In this case, police who were investigating the accident said that the tractor-trailer rig was hauling an empty tanker trailer at the time.

According to early reports, state troopers could not immediately give a reason as to why the deceased pedestrian was on the Beltway to start with, nor if weather conditions may have been a factor in the fatal accident. Initially the man’s identity was not provided, but following notification of his next of kin he was identified as 57-year-old Joseph Mark Scannell.

Fatal Anne Arundel Country Truck Accident Points to Driver Error

November 21, 2009 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

As Maryland truck accident attorneys, over the years my colleagues and I have represented numerous trucking crash victims and their families. Trucking collisions don’t only injure pedestrians and drivers of other cars and SUVs, these kinds of tractor-trailer and delivery truck accidents also cause injury to the truck drivers operating them. A recent article illustrates this one type of truck crash that resulted in the untimely death of a teenage driver and the severe injury of the other passenger of that vehicle.

While the preliminary police report issued at the time of the news article indicated that the single-vehicle accident was a result of driver error combined with less than optimal road conditions, there could also be a chance of defective equipment, such as worn tires or other mechanical failure.

According to news reports, a 19-year-old driver died several days following a single-truck crash on Route 100 in Anne Arundel County. Police reports showed that Dakota Kelly Alder of Pasadena, MD, died from injuries sustained during a crash four days earlier near the Route 100 and Interstate 97 interchange.