Maryland Trucking Accident Lawyer Blog

Logging Truck Flips Over on Highway, Spilling Cargo

November 11, 2015 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Earlier this month in West Virginia, a single-truck accident involving a logging truck caused significant delays and seriously injured the truck’s driver. According to one local news source covering the incident, the accident occurred on the highway as the truck driver was attempting to make a right-hand turn at an intersection.

Evidently, as the truck began to make the turn, both the cab and the trailer flipped over onto their sides. The large logs on the truck were spilled across the highway. The logs remained in the road until emergency crews were able to bring heavy equipment out to remove them.

Police believe that excessive speed was the main contributing factor in the accident and have issued citations for failure to maintain control and for maintaining defective equipment. Police likely did not issue a citation for speeding because no one was present at the scene of the accident to confirm their suspicions that the truck driver was speeding at the time of the accident.

Bus Involved in Fatal Accident: One Dead, 13 Injured

November 4, 2015 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

In the later part of October, a bus carrying a college rowing team was involved in a fatal accident with a passenger car. According to one local news source, the accident, which killed one and injured 13 others, occurred on a Pennsylvania highway on a Tuesday evening.

Evidently, the bus was carrying the members of the school’s rowing team back to Bethlehem, Pennsylvania after a competition when it was involved in the fatal accident. According to the news report, it was the passenger car that crashed into the bus, but additional details have not yet been released. What is known is that it was the driver of the passenger car who was killed in the accident.

An investigation is ongoing to determine what exactly occurred in the moments leading up to the fatal accident. As of the publication of the article, no citations had been issued to any of the parties involved.

Truck Drivers’ Union Against Proposed Hair-Follicle Drug Testing

October 27, 2015 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

With drunk or otherwise intoxicated driving being one of the leading causes of serious and fatal truck accidents, lawmakers have started to consider new methods of drug testing truck drivers. The newest method, hair-follicle testing, has been proposed recently but is being met with some harsh criticism.

According to one news source, hair-follicle testing can detect drug use up to 90 days in the past, whereas urine testing generally can only go back a couple of weeks, depending on the drug. This could be useful in both criminal and civil contexts, when either an injured accident victim or a prosecutor wants to determine if a truck driver was under the influence at the time of an accident.

Not everyone agrees, however, that the new method of testing is a good idea. The AFL-CIO’s Transportation Trades Department (TTD), which is essentially the truck drivers’ union, opposes the new method, claiming that it is not as scientifically accurate and also that there may be racial implications in the test’s use.

Truck in Prince George’s County Crashes Through Barrier and Falls Off Overpass; Driver Dies as a Result

October 19, 2015 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Earlier this month near Washington, D.C., one man died when the semi-truck he was operating crashed through a barrier and then fell off an overpass, killing him instantly. According to one local news source, the accident occurred on the Suitland Parkway in Prince George’s County, on a Friday early in the morning before rush hour traffic began.

Evidently, the truck driver was operating a vehicle that was full of reams of paper. At some point along the Outer Loop of the Beltway, the driver lost control of the truck, and it crashed through a guardrail and off an overpass. The truck itself sustained major damage, and the driver was killed on impact. Thankfully, no other vehicles or people were involved in the accident. Police are not sure what caused the driver to lose control of the truck, but an investigation is underway, and detectives are looking into potential causes.

Common Causes of Maryland Truck Accidents

While most accidents are the result of some kind of driver error, that error is not always known in the minutes, hours, or even days following the accident. In some cases, months-long investigations must be completed before the truth comes out.

Highway Truck Accident Caused By Roadway Debris Kills One

October 14, 2015 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

The driver of a tanker truck was killed earlier this month when he was involved in a serious accident with another vehicle on the New Jersey Turnpike. According to one local news source, the accident resulted after a semi-truck slammed into the rear of another vehicle that had begun to slow down due to mattresses that were in the roadway.

Evidently, after the initial collision with the vehicle in front of it, the tanker truck then crashed through the guard rail and drove off the right shoulder of the road. The tanker slid over onto its right side and then burst into flames. The truck burned for nearly two hours before emergency personnel were able to control the fire, which could be seen for miles.

The driver of the truck was unable to make it out of the truck alive and passed away from his injuries at the scene. The driver of the other vehicle, thankfully, suffered only minor injuries and is expected to make a full recovery.

Weather Blamed for Recent Semi-Truck Accident

October 7, 2015 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Earlier this week in California, a semi-truck was involved in a serious accident when the driver of the rig lost control as he was traveling on the highway. According to one local news report, the driver of the truck was traveling on Interstate 80, heading downhill from the summit of Castle Peak, when he lost control of the vehicle, eventually ending up with the truck overturning on the highway.

Evidently, the weather conditions at the time were rainy and wet. Authorities who were investigating the accident told reporters that they believe the weather to be at least one factor in the accident. Thankfully, no one was seriously injured as a result of the accident, although the driver did suffer minor injuries.

Weather Related Truck Accidents

As the weather in Maryland begins to change in the coming months, road conditions will be difficult at times. It is important for drivers to take extra care when operating their vehicles in these compromised conditions. While the authorities investigating the truck accident discussed above noted that the weather was a factor in the accident, rarely will weather be an “excuse” to relieve the responsible party of liability.

Semi-Truck Collides with School Bus, Sending Four to the Hospital

September 24, 2015 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Earlier this month in Kindred, North Dakota, a school bus was involved in an accident with three semi-trucks, seriously injuring the driver and three students on board the bus. According to one local news report, the accident occurred at around nine in the morning as the school bus was on its way to a field trip.

Evidently, the school bus was heading eastbound on the highway and was approaching an intersection with another highway when a semi-truck traveling on the other highway failed to see the school bus and slammed into the side of it. Two other semi-trucks then crashed into the two disabled vehicles before they were able to be moved from the highway.

The driver of the school bus needed to be extricated from the badly damaged front end of the bus. This task took emergency workers nearly 45 minutes. However, the driver was eventually removed and taken to the hospital, where she was admitted in serious but stable condition. Three other students on board the bus were also taken to the hospital with non-life threatening injuries.

Laurel Bus Accident Claims One Man’s Life, Injures Seven Others

September 17, 2015 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Earlier this month in Laurel, one man was killed and another seven people injured after a tour bus and a pick-up truck were involved in an accident. According to one local news report, the accident took place on Md. Route 198, near the Amish market on Md. Route 197.

Evidently, the tour bus was carrying 58 people and was heading eastbound when it began to make a left-hand turn into a shopping center. As the bus began its turn, another driver approached the bus from the opposite direction, eventually crashing into the bus and injuring seven people aboard.

The driver of the other vehicle was killed as a result of the collision. The Mayor of Laurel told reporters and investigators that he wants an investigation conducted to see if there is anything that can be done about the dangerous intersection. According to reports, the intersection is a lethal one, and several serious and fatal accidents occur there each year.

Truck Driver Responsible for Accident Critically Injuring Tracy Morgan Seeks Dismissal of Criminal Charges

September 10, 2015 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Last year, actor and comedian Tracy Morgan was involved in a New Jersey truck accident that left Morgan seriously injured and claimed the life of one of his good friends, James McNair. According to a report by People Magazine, the Wal-Mart truck driver who was behind the wheel when the accident occurred has recently asked a judge to dismiss the criminal charges that were filed against him after the accident.

Court documents filed by the truck driver’s attorney claim that the driver will not be able to get a fair trial, due to the mass media coverage of the accident. The National Transportation Safety Board conducted an investigation into the accident and determined that the truck driver was at fault.

Back on June 7, 2014, the driver of the truck rear-ended the vehicle Morgan and friends were in while on the New Jersey Turnpike. A subsequent investigation revealed that the driver had not slept for the past 28 hours and was traveling at least 10 miles per hour over the posted speed limit in a construction zone.

Semi-Trucks Collide on Highway, One Injured

September 3, 2015 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Earlier last month in West Virginia, one person was seriously injured when one semi-truck rear-ended another truck that was parked on the side of the highway. According to one local West Virginia news source, the accident occurred in the northbound lanes of Interstate 81 on a Friday afternoon.

Evidently, one semi-truck had attempted to pull off the highway at a rest area but missed the exit. Rather than wait until the next rest area or exit, that driver pulled his car off to the side of the highway. Another truck traveling northbound on I-81 was unable to avoid a collision with the stopped truck and crashed into it from behind.

As emergency responders arrived on the scene, they needed to extricate one person who was in the sleeper area of the truck. That person was taken to a nearby hospital and admitted with serious but non-life threatening injuries. The driver of the semi-truck that had stopped on the side of the road was cited by police for a stopping violation. It is unclear how much of the truck was actually encroaching on the road at the time of the accident. However, given the reports by police, it seems that the truck was not completely off the side of the road at the time of the accident.