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Tractor-Trailer Accident on North Carolina Highway Kills One Man and Injures Another

One man is dead and another person was injured in North Carolina last week in a three-vehicle collision that occurred when a tractor-trailer?s brakes failed while headed south on NC 89. The tractor-trailer then crossed the center line, striking a Nissan pickup truck and then a Chevrolet van before slamming into a mountain and catching fire. North Carolina Highway Police say that the tractor-trailer was moving at 65 mph when the collision occurred.

Pickup truck driver Glenn Roy Shumate, 68, died upon impact. Marvin Patton, the tractor-trailer driver, sustained minor injuries. He was released from the hospital after treatment and charged with death by motor vehicle, driving left of center, and speeding.

Speeding is one of the number one causes of truck accidents caused by a truck driver. Speeding can cause accidents because a truck driver may not have enough time to stop crashing into another motor vehicle or pedestrian. It can also prevent another car driver, motorcyclist, or pedestrian from getting out of the way of a truck before being struck.

Tractor-trailer accidents can be very tragic events, especially for pedestrians or the passengers of any other vehicles that are involved in a collision with a tractor-trailer.
A tractor-trailer that is fully loaded can weigh tens of thousands of pounds?compare that to the 3,000 or so pounds that regular motor vehicles weigh.

If you are injured in a truck collision, you should contact a North Carolina or South Carolina truck accident lawyer right away. Tractor-trailer collision claims and lawsuits are more complex to deal with than regular car accident cases, and it is important that the personal injury lawyer that you hire knows how to properly deal with truck companies and their insurance companies.

It is not uncommon for there to be more than one liable party that can be held responsible for a truck accident. For example, the truck company may have failed to service the truck so that a brake or engine malfunction ended up causing a fatal accident, or the maintenance company may have neglected to properly service the truck.

Even if the truck driver caused the accident by speeding or engaging some other negligent behavior behind the wheel?the truck company might still be partially responsible for the collision if it allowed the driver to operate the tractor-trailer for longer than the legally allowed number of hours.

Your tractor-trailer collision lawyer will know what evidence to gather in order to properly investigate your case and prove that you deserve personal injury compensation for your injuries from the truck accident.

One dead in three-vehicle accident, The Mount Airy News, January 23, 2008

Related Web Resources:

Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration

Speeding, Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety/SafeRoads.org

Full post as published by North Carolina Injury Lawyer Blog on January 28, 2008 (boomark / email).