Truck Accidents

Sixty-Two People Injured in Amtrak Crash Amidst Calls For Better Railroad Safety

March 19, 2015 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Earlier this month in North Carolina, an accident between a large truck and an Amtrak train sent 62 people to the hospital with minor injuries. According to a local Washington DC news source, the accident occurred near Halifax, North Carolina.

Evidently, a large semi-truck was traveling with an escort vehicle when the truck got struck attempting to maneuver across the tracks. It seems that the truck driver was attempting to make a turn over the tracks when the truck got stuck and couldn’t free itself. Roughly 15-20 minutes later, an Amtrak train with 212 passengers and eight crew members aboard slammed into the immobilized truck. In all, 62 people were sent to the hospital with minor injuries.

As more information was discovered about the crash, it seems that the truck driver had access to a number to call when such unusual situations arise on or near railroad tracks. The number, if he had called it, would have alerted the train’s conductor that there was a problem ahead and likely would have avoided the accident. As it turns out, the number was posted at the very crossing where the truck got stuck.

Hazmat Called To Clean Up After Tanker Trailer Overturns on I-95 in Beltsville

March 12, 2015 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Earlier this month, a tanker trailer overturned on Interstate 95, blocking all southbound lanes and two northbound lanes for several hours while emergency workers cleared the scene. According to an article by the Washington Post, the accident took place on I-95 South near Route 200, in Beltsville.

Evidently, the truck was heading south when another driver was speeding in and out of traffic. Somehow, the truck lost control and tipped over, perpendicular to the roadway. This caused all southbound lanes to be blocked, as well as two of the northbound lanes. In addition, the tanker-truck began to leak bio-diesel fuel all over the highway. It is estimated that by the time the wreck was completely cleaned up over 1,000 gallons of bio-diesel was spilled onto the roadway.

One driver was cited for his involvement in the accident. He is a 23-year-old man from Laurel, Maryland. Police cited him for failure to control speed to avoid a collision and reckless driving. It is unclear if the truck driver will also face any criminal charges for his role in the accident.

Baltimore County Accident Between Car and Box Truck Results in Vehicle Crashing into Nearby Building

February 11, 2015 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Earlier this month in Baltimore County, an accident between a box truck and a car sent the truck into a nearby building. According to an article by the Baltimore Sun, the accident occurred on Hanover Pike near Emory Road in Upperco at around 10 in the morning.

Evidently, the truck was heading north and the car was heading south on Hanover Pike when the two collided. After the collision, the box truck careened into a nearby building. Thankfully, the building was abandoned, and no one was inside at the time. Hazmat crews did survey the scene and ended up removing some potentially hazardous fuel from the scene.

It is not clear what caused the two vehicles to collide, but both drivers were trapped in their respective vehicles until emergency responders arrived and were able to extricate them. Both of the drivers were injured and flown to Maryland Shock Trauma after they were removed from their vehicles.

Hazmat Truck Rolls Over on I-95, Slowing Traffic for Hours

January 6, 2015 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Earlier this month in Baltimore, a truck accident on the Inner Loop shut down traffic for hours as hazmat crew members cleaned up the scene. According to one local news report, the truck flipped over on the ramp between I-95 southbound and I-695 westbound.

Evidently, the truck was fully loaded with hazardous cargo, including filled trash bags and other potentially hazardous materials. Hazmat crews worked diligently to clean up the mess caused by the accident and upright the truck. However, it was still several hours before the highway was able to reopen for regular traffic.

Hazmat Truck Accidents

As if a semi-truck accident isn’t serious enough, the accident above involved an overturned truck that was carrying hazardous materials, or hazmat as it is often referred to. Luckily, no one was seriously injured in the single-vehicle accident described above. However, with these types of accidents, that is rarely the case.

Four-Vehicle Wreck in Howard County Injures Six

December 10, 2014 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Earlier this week in Elkridge, a semi-truck, an ambulance, and two other vehicles were involved in a serious car accident that left six people injured. According to one local news report, the accident occurred around seven in the evening near the intersection of Washington Boulevard and Kit Kat Road, in Elkridge.

Evidently, the semi-truck was stopped in the middle of Washington Blvd., taking up three lanes because it had just been involved in an accident. As the ambulance approached the traffic jam created as a result of the accident, it crashed into a Hyundai and then bounced into the semi-truck, colliding with the rear portion of the truck. The force from the ambulance hitting the Hyundai sent the Hyundai into another vehicle.

The driver of the ambulance needed to be extricated from the vehicle when emergency crews arrived. This process took about an hour, and afterwards the driver was sent to Shock Trauma in Baltimore. He is currently listed in critical condition. The remaining people involved in the accident suffered less serious injuries and have since been treated and released.

Car Cuts off Semi-Truck on NJ Highway, Causing Two Deaths

November 14, 2014 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Earlier this in New Jersey, a tragic accident claimed the lives of two motorists when a semi-truck rolled over on top of a car, engulfing both vehicles in flames. According to a report by one local news source, a truck was heading down New Jersey Route 21 around 7:30 in the evening when a car cut off the truck.

As the truck lost control, it slammed into the guardrail and eventually toppled over on top of another car. The truck and the car it fell on top of both caught fire. Shortly thereafter, another vehicle crashed into the wreckage.

After the truck driver got out of the vehicle, he ran over to the car that was still on fire. Witnesses report that he tried to help get the people trapped inside out of the car. Unfortunately, he was unable to get them out, and both passengers in the car were pronounced dead at the scene. The truck driver is expected to be fine.

2013 Rosedale Accident Determined To Be Caused by Distracted Driving

November 7, 2014 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Last year in Rosedale, a trash truck crossed onto a railroad track as the train was approaching and caused the train to derail, ultimately resulting in millions of dollars of property damage. Luckily, no one was hurt in the accident.

Just recently, the National Transportation Safety Board released the results of its investigation into the accident. The NTSB determined that the driver failed to check that the tracks were clear before he proceeded over them. Specifically, the NTSB also determined that the driver of the trash truck was on his cellular phone, using a hands-free device, at the time of the accident.

Evidently, the cell phone records of the driver came back indicating that he accepted a phone call just 18 seconds before the serious accident.

Semi-Truck Crashes on I-95, Leaving Huge Stone Slabs on the Highway

July 29, 2014 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Earlier this week just north of the Fort McHenry Tunnel, a semi-truck overturned and dumped its load of huge stone slabs on the roadway. According to a report by the Baltimore Sun, the truck was driving southbound on I-95 near the Eastern Avenue exit when it was involved in a single-vehicle accident. When the truck toppled over, it dumped its load of giant stone slabs all across I-95.

Clean-up crews had a difficult time getting the slabs off the roadway due to their size and weight. However, after a few hours the crew was able to clear off the roadway and open it back up for regular traffic.

Investigators are not clear exactly what happened to cause the semi-truck to overturn, but an investigation is ongoing. Thankfully, there were no injuries.

Maryland Man Dies After Rear-Ending Broken Down Truck

July 15, 2014 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Earlier this week in an accident in Howard County, a Cooksville man was killed when he rear-ended a broken-down box truck that had been partially pulled off the road. According to a report by the Baltimore Sun, the accident occurred around 9 in the morning on I-70, near the Route 32 intersection.

Evidently, the victim was traveling eastbound in the left lane of I-70 when he struck the broken-down box truck from behind. Police told reporters that the truck had only partially been pulled off the side of the road, and that part of the truck was protruding into the leftmost lane of traffic.

The driver of the car was pronounced dead by Howard County Department of Fire and Rescue as soon as they arrived on the scene. The driver of the box truck was not injured. Police have not yet issued a citation to the box-truck driver and are in the middle of an investigation into the cause of the accident.

Truck Driver Side Swipes Police Cruiser on Capital Beltway

June 27, 2014 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Last week, in a frightening accident that occurred on the Capital Beltway just outside Washington DC, a semi-truck driver side-swiped a police cruiser as the officer was writing another motorist a ticket. According to a report by WUSA 9, the accident occurred in the early morning hours on the outer loop, near Colesville Road.

Evidently, the semi-truck came up upon the police cruiser and the other vehicle, crashed into them, and then continued to travel down the highway for another 100 or so yards before it jack-knifed across several lanes. The massive force involved in the accident ruptured one of the truck’s fuel tanks, sending diesel fuel all over the highway, causing additional concern.

Both the police officer and the motorist he had pulled over were taken to the hospital with non-life threatening injuries and are expected to recover fully from their injuries. The Outer Loop was closed for about 5 hours as police and emergency crews clean up the scene and conducted the accident reconstruction.