Personal Injury Law

Tractor trailer forces two cars off roadway, injures four

By Ryan Bradley, Esq.

Four people were injured Friday in a Missouri tractor trailer accident on Highway 63 near Kirksville.

According to the investigating officer of the Missouri Highway Patrol, the accident occurred around 4:35 p.m. when a 2005 Freightliner, driven by Jeffrey Haase, 43, rear-ended a 2008 Pontiac, driven by John Brownell, 54. Brownell?s Pontiac was forced into a third vehicle, a 1996 Ford driven by Nancy Morrison, 36, and both smaller cars ran off the roadway.

Brownell suffered serious injuries and was taken to University Hospital in Columbia, Missouri for treatment. Morrison also suffered serious injuries and was treated at Northeast Regional Medical Center. Morrison?s daughters, Brandy and Ashley, 16 and 13 respectively, were also injured, but less severely. They also received treatment at Northeast Regional Medical Center. Haase was uninjured, according to the initial crash report.

The initial crash report did not list any summons or explain why the truck driver might have crashed into the other cars.

As soon as they are able, the injured parties should contact a Missouri tractor trailer accident lawyer for help with their case. It is important to investigate the driver and his company by checking the driver?s logbook to make sure no motor carrier laws were violated. Often in tractor trailer accidents it is revealed that the driver was simply fatigued because he had been driving longer than regulations allow. It is not known if this is the case in the Kirksville accident, but the driver?s logs will be able to shed a light into this matter.

These logbooks are only kept for a limited time and then they are often destroyed. That is why tractor trailer accidents should be investigated by experienced personal injury attorneys as soon as possible.

Full post as published by Missouri Accident Lawyer Blog on February 20, 2009 (boomark / email).