Recent Posts in Truck Accidents Category

Recent automobile, tractor trailer and motorcycle accidents have brought highway work zones to the forefront of attention regarding safety.  According to safety engineer for the Missouri Department of Transportation, it takes a split second for disaster to occur while in or approaching a highway work zone.  Three recent crashes in work zones have made experts examine safety practices in road work zones.  Last Thursday evening a prisoner in a Wyandotte county sheriff's car was killed when the car was rear-ended as it slowed for construction on I-70.  This accident occurred just a week after a two teen fatality crash on I-44 that involved two school buses and serious injured several other teens.  On Sunday evening four people were seriously injured on I-35 when their car was hit from behind while it was stopped for work-zone congestion.  Some facts have been released about recent Missouri crash causes in work zones:

                Driver inattention is a major problem.

                Majority of accidents occur in the regular flow of traffic, not during rush hour

                Majority of crashes occur when it is drive.

    Texting, fidgeting with one's IPod,  or letting one's mind wonder can cause a second distraction that could be fatal.  The National Transportation Safety Board is examining work zone compliance and speed limits.  However, if drivers don't pay attention then all of the bells and whistles will not be useful.   Accidents in work zones are up in the state of Missouri and experts attribute some of that increase due to the amount of roadwork that is going on in Missouri.   Missouri has made some changes in roadwork safety to include higher fines for hitting a work zone crew member,  workers wearing fluorescent green vests to enhance visibility, and rumble strips on the highway to warn motorists of approaching highway work zones. Accidents in work zones are often fatal or leave victims with catastrophic injuries.

Have you been in a motor vehicle accident that involved negligent driving on the part of someone else while in the greater St. Louis area?

Zane Cagle at the Cagle Law Firm can assist you to determine if you have a claim or lawsuit.  Using a St. Louis attorney such as Zane Cagle allows you the resources to pursue damages and recover medical bills that are overwhelming after an injury.  At the Cagle Law Firm, an experienced St. Louis Accident Attorney can review your claim and help you file a lawsuit against the person responsible for your accident or injury or to help you to determine if you have a wrongful death claim or a claim for personal injury damages contact the Cagle Law firm today.
    To schedule a consultation to discuss your claim, please contact the firm today at (800) 716-2621

National Transportation Safety Board is investigating the Missouri crash in Interstate 44 that involved twoschool buses, a pickup truck and a tractor trailer.  The crash resulted in the deaths of two teenagers and injuries to fifty-four other students.  Two girls remain hospitalized; however, their names have not been released. The accident occurred when a semi slowed down for road construction and a pickup truck driven by a 19 year old man of Sullivan crashed into the back of it.  Two school buses carrying high school band students then slammed into that wreck.  A 15 year old girl of St. James, was killed when she was in the back seat of the first bus.  Charges will probably not be filed against any drivers until the final patrol reported is completed which may take up to six weeks.

Investigators are hoping to discover some information that will make school bus travel and road construction zones more safe.  Summer is a busy time for road construction and wrecks are common in work zones. The Missouri Department of Transportation is doing work on 250 bridges and improving 5,600 miles of roadway.  Accidents continue to happen in spite of their safety education efforts, signage, stricter penalties and fines for construction area violations.

Have you been in a motor vehicle accident that involved negligent driving on the part of someone else while in the greater St. Louis area?

Two crashes invovling tractor trailers, about two miles a part, claimed two lives on I-70 near Highland, Illinois.  In one of the crashes a pickup truck was sandwiched between two tractor-trailers possibly resulting from a slow-down from another crash ahead that took place about 10 minutes before.  One of the drivers of the tractor trailers was unable to escape when his tractor trailer caught on fire. A crash had occurred approximately 10 minutes prior on I-70 further westbound involving a tractor trailer cabin and trailer veering off to opposite sides of the highway, dumping boxes of food across the median.

Police report that a third accident occurred with a tractor trailer and a motorcycle.  The motorcycle crashed into the back of the tractor trailer, causing  injuries to the motorcyclist.  Traffic was backed up for hours and Highway Patrol was redirecting St. Louis bound traffic.  The identity of the victims has not been released.

Have you been the victim of a collision with a tractor trailer?

Contact the Cagle Law today to speak with an experienced  truck accident attorney and dedicated St. Louis personal injury lawyer about filing a personal injury claim or wrongful death claim.
personal injury To schedule a consultation to discuss your claim, please contact the firm today at (800) 716-2621

Sixteen of 34 cattle survived a two semi truck accident last night at about 11:50 p.m.  One driver was talking to another driver on his CB radio when he crashed into the rear of the box trailer. Upon impact, the truck caught on fire and the driver dove out of the driver's side window that was partially down. The driver was unable to extinguish the fire that caused the trailer tires to explode and blew the bottom out of the aluminum cattle hauler. 

The driver of the other truck, a Volvo semi-box trailer was not seriously injured nor was the driver of the cattle semi. However, the cattle truck, a 1999 Peterbilt semi was a total loss as were some of the cattle.  The driver of the cattle truck was cited for driving too closely. As well, westbound and eastbound traffic on Interstate 94 were closed for most of the night due to several cows running loose and officials afraid they cattle would jump the three foot median.
 
When a vehicle the size of a tractor-trailer crashes into an object or other vehicle, the property damage can be very costly for trucking companies and individuals. When a truck driver is negligent, the effects are often deadly. Catastrophic injuries can be a result of truck accidents as well as wrongful deaths.  If you or a loved one were hurt in a semi truck accident due to the negligent or reckless driving, you may have a legal claim for compensation.

Contact the Cagle Law today to speak with an experienced  truck accident attorney and dedicated St. Louis personal injury lawyer about filing a personal injury claim or wrongful death claim.
personal injury To schedule a consultation to discuss your claim, please contact the firm today at (800) 716-2621

A 21 year old woman crashed into a semi truck and was ejected from her car when she was then struck by a second tractor trailer on Sunday afternoon.  Officials pronounced the woman dead at the scene.  A witness reported that they had seen the woman texting just before the crash.  She lost control of her 2000 Oldsmobile Intrigue and left the highway, striking a guardrail. She then spun back into the highway and struck a tractor trailer. After crashing into the first tractor trailer, she was thrown from her car and then struck by the second tractor trailer. The crash remains under investigation and due to the damage to the car, it cannot be determined if she was wearing a seatbelt. However, her phone has been recovered for investigation as to time and use to determine if "texting" was a contributing factor in the horrific accident. No  reports were made in regard to the injuries the drivers of the tractor trailers may have sustained.

Contact the Cagle Law today to speak with an experienced truck accident attorney and dedicated St. Louis personal injury lawyer about filing a personal injury claim or wrongful death claim.
To schedule a consultation to discuss your claim, please contact the firm today at (800) 716-2621

A truck driver has been charged with homicide by vehicle in a deadly five car crash on Route 209 in Monroe County, Pennsylvania, that has killed one and left several others with catastrophic injuries. Last Thursday evening four vehicles were stopped at a red light facing northbound when the tractor-trailer traveling northbound in the right lane failed to stop and crashed into the back of a Mini Cooper. The Mini Cooper then struck a Chevrolet Corvette and then crossed the intersection and crashed into a guard rail.  The Corvette was pushed into the left lane and collided with a Chrysler 300. After striking the Mini Cooper the tractor trailer then continued straight and hit a Hyundai Santa Fe. The Hyundai was shoved into the intersection and the tractor trailer veered off the road and crashed into a traffic control pole and caught fire. The traffic control pole then fell on the Hyundai. The driver of the Hyundai and her passenger were air lifted to an area hospital.

The truck driver was arraigned on charges of homicide by vehicle, following too close, and careless driving.
When a truck driver is negligent, the effects are often deadly. Catastrophic injuries can be a result of truck accidents as well as wrongful deaths.  If you or a loved one were hurt in a semi truck accident due to the negligent or reckless driving, you may have a legal claim for compensation.

Contact the Cagle Law today to speak with an experienced  truck accident attorney and dedicated St. Louis personal injury lawyer about filing a personal injury claim or wrongful death claim.
personal injury To schedule a consultation to discuss your claim, please contact the firm today at (800) 716-2621

Contact the Cagle Law today to speak with an experienced  truck accident attorney and dedicated St. Louis personal injury lawyer about filing a personal injury claim or wrongful death claim.
personal injury To schedule a consultation to discuss your claim, please contact the firm today at (800) 716-2621

A train and a semi-truck collided on May 14, 2010 in Michigan, and investigators are trying to determine if it was caused by driver error or malfunctioning railroad signals. The violent crash resulted in four people being injured. The train conductor, conductor assistant and an engineer were on board the locomotive at the time of the crash and the 59-year old driver of the semi-truck was alone. All four of the victims reported bruises, bumps and back pain.  As railroad accidents continue to increase involving derailment, crashes with other trains, pedestrians, equipment failure or crashes with other vehicles; all of these types of accidents can result in catastrophic injuries, deaths, and extremely large amounts of property damage.

To schedule a consultation to discuss your claim, please contact the firm today at (800) 716-2621

A  St. Peters man was killed in an auto accident on Interstate 70 when the Dodge Durango he was driving was struck by the wheel of a tractor trailer.  Equipment failure caused the truck to lose two wheels from the rear axle. The wheel struck the front windshield of the victim's  Durango. After the collision, the Durango then traveled to the right and struck the side of a Nissan Altima in oncoming traffic on I-70. The driver of the Nissan was transported via ambulance to a hospital with minor injuries, however, the St. Peters man was pronounced dead at the site.  While this is the first fatality of May, it is the 44^th  highway fatality of the year in the St. Louis area.

No charges have been filed as of yet, however, the family of the victim may have a wrongful death claim. Were you injured or have you lost a loved one because of a defective product or an auto accident?  If so, you may have grounds to a file legal claim for compensation for your medical bills, pain and suffering, lost wages, property damage, and emotional distress. Contacting an attorney early after the accident is crucial in many instances for thorough investigation. At the Cagle Law Firm,  an experienced St. Louis Auto Accident Attorney can review your claim and help you file a lawsuit against the person responsible for your accident or injury or to help you to determine if you have a wrongful death claim.

To schedule a consultation to discuss your claim, please contact the firm today at (800) 716-2621. 

A woman sustained serious injuries after colliding with a tractor-trailer in a four-car crash in Illinois last week. The woman was traveling northbound in the southbound lane of I-255 when she crashed into a tractor-trailer. After colliding with the tractor-trailer, she was struck by a van and a SUV that were traveling southbound on I-255. The woman was charged with drunk-driving, failure to reduce speed, and improper lane usage. The woman and the driver of the van were transported to the hospital. 

If you were injured in an auto accident because of the negligent or reckless driving of someone else, you may have grounds to file legal claim for compensation for your medical bills, pain and suffering, lost wages, property damage, emotional distress, and more. At the Cagle Law Firm, an experienced St. Louis Auto Accident Attorney can review your claim and help you file a lawsuit against the person responsible for your accident or injury. 

To schedule a consultation to discuss your claim, please contact the firm today at (800) 716-2621. 

Illinois lawmakers are once again putting forth a bill to the state governor that would raise interstate speed limits to 65 miles per hour for truckers, the exception being in Chicago and surrounding areas.  Put forth three times already to ex-governor Rob Blagojevich who vetoed the measure, lawmakers passed the bill quickly this time to get it to Rob Quinn's desk.

Although the bill seems like a simple concept, it has created quite a safety debate over the benefits and risks of allowing truckers to travel the same speed as other drivers.

On the one hand, slower trucks cause traffic congestion, which increases the rate of accidents between trucks and fast-moving cars. 

On the other side, however, are critics who say that trucks are already driving well-beyond the current 55 mph limit, and that increasing it to 65 mph would only encourage truckers to drive even faster. This obviously raises a major safety concern for other drivers since semis have a limited stopping speed and have the ability to cause catastrophic damage in accidents due to their weight and size.

As of now, Governor Quinn has not yet stated where he stands on the measure.

If you or a loved one has been injured in an accident involving a semi or big truck, call the law offices of Page Cagle in St. Louis today and speak with an experience Truck Accident Attorney.  We handle cases in both Missouri and Illinois, contact us today!

Over the weekend, a tragic accident in Phoenix involving a Cadillac sedan and a semi-truck took the lives of three people, two adults and a one-year-old, when the truck driver failed to stop at a traffic light at an intersection 

According to the Phoenix Police Department, when the truck went through the intersection, it T-boned the Cadillac, killing the front-seat passenger and the one-year-old girl in the backseat upon impact.  The driver and the other passenger were taken to the hospital immediately, but the driver did not survive.  Currently, the female passenger remains in critical care.

According to preliminary reports, the driver was not impaired and criminal charges have not yet been filed.

Collisions involving semi-trucks are among the most dangerous car accidents on the road today, often resulting in major damages and even death.  If you or a loved one has been injured because of a truck driver's error or reckless driving, you may be entitled to a claim.  Call our premier St. Louis Truck Accident attorneys at Page Cagle today for your free consultation.

This week, a jury in Polk County, FL awarded a 21-year-old woman $65 million for her injuries from a 2007 accident with a tractor-trailer. 

Prior to the crash, Kendra Lymon was studying psychology and could speak six languages.  While in school, she also worked for the Florida Institute of Neurologic Rehabilitation as a residential aide.

Now, she relies completely on family and friends to help with basic daily tasks such as showering and eating, and she has difficulty speaking at all.

The crash occurred in August of 2007 when Lymon passed through an intersection where her lawyers and an eye witness claim she had the green light.  At the same time, Robert Bohn, a battalion chief for the county fire services, drive through the intersection and crashed into Lymon's Dodge Neon.  The severity of the crash left Lymon with significant injuries that require 24-hour care and supervision.

The tractor-trailer Bohn was driving was owned by Bynum Transport, a company that Bohn was working part-time for at the time of the crash.  The lawsuit named both Bynum Transport and Bohn as defendants.

Accidents involving tractor-trailers and big rigs are some of the most devastating auto accidents, often resulting in significant injuries to drivers of smaller vehicles.  If you have been involved in a truck accident where the driver was at fault, call the Truck Accident Attorneys at Page Cagle today for a free consultation.  We will help you build your case and get the compensation you deserve.

This week, a Chicago wrongful death attorney settled a suit regarding a semi-truck collision that killed Debra Cunningham of Danville, Illinois for $1,495,000.

Cunningham died in August of 2004 when a Dayton Freight Lines semi-tractor trailer collided with her vehicle at an intersection.  Henry Butler, the truck driver, failed to yield to a non-reflective stop sign the city placed in the intersection after a severe thunderstorm knocked out the traffic lights. 

Witnesses said that Cunningham had come to a complete stop, and after proceeding through the intersection, was hit by the semi.  She died from the force of the impact.

The suit named the City of Danville, Dayton Freight Lines, and Henry Butler as defendants in the case.  The Cunningham's attorney stated that the city bore some responsibility because the stop sign was in the wrong spot in the street and was non-reflective, which posed a direct risk to drivers passing through the intersection.  He also claimed that since Butler was familiar with that intersection, he should have known to stop.

Due to the size and weight of semis, accidents involving big trucks often have severe consequences.  If you or a loved one was injured or killed in a semi collision, the lawyers at Page Cagle in St. Louis can help.  We handle cases all over Illinois and Missouri, ensuring that our clients receive the most compensation possible.  Contact us today for a free consultation.

This week, the Huntley Project School District reached a settlement with the parents of a 7-year-old girl who died in a bus crash last year.  Sarah Fark, an elementary school student at Huntley, was riding a school bus when it pulled in front of an oncoming pickup truck. 

Tuesday, the school board of trustees voted to approve the settlement, but did not release details to the press.  According to the school's superintendent, trustees did not know the terms of the settlement until it was time to vote at the executive session on Feb 10.

The bus driver pleaded guilty to careless driving and failure to yield.  She received a six-month suspended jail sentence.

If a family member has been killed because of the careless or intentional acts of another, you should immediately seek legal help to organize and assemble your case.  The Wrongful Death Attorneys at Page Cagle understand that losing a loved one is a traumatic time, but we will do everything in our power to smooth the way for you.  Contact us 24/7 for a free consultation! 

Originally, when trucker Jose Reyes caused a chain reaction collision in the 5 Freeway tunnel in California in 2007- causing three fatalities and 23 injuries- prosecutors did not file vehicular manslaughter charges because a report claimed that Reyes truck had a faulty right-front brake.  The California Highway Patrol investigated the accident and initially stated that the leaking wheel-bearing seal on the steer axle reduced braking efficiency, which could have caused an imbalance when Reyes hit his brakes. 

Since prosecutors found that Reyes' employer was responsible for the truck's maintenance, they did not feel it was necessary to press charges against the truck driver.  However, in a newly released report by the CHP, further investigation uncovered evidence that Reyes was driving in excess of 65 mph on the rain-slick freeway.  The speed limit was 55 mph.  This new finding has the CHP convinced that Reyes' speeding caused the truck's initial loss of control, not the brakes. As a result, the truck crashed into a concrete barrier, causing a multiple car collision, which killed a 6-year-old boy and two adults. 

CHP officials state that the brake system may have been a contributing factor, but not the cause of the accident.  So far, the district attorney's office claims it has not filed any charges against Reyes.

Large trucks can cause some of the worst and most dangerous auto accidents on the roads.  Due to their size and inability to stop quickly, motorists often pay a heavy price for a truck driver's mistakes.  If you have been in an accident where a truck driver or truck company is at fault, do not hesitate to contact a Truck Accident Attorney today!  The legal team at Page Cagle in St. Louis has handled truck accident cases all over Missouri and Illinois, fighting successfully for the compensation our clients deserved.  Contact us today!