Personal Injury Law

Big rig rear-ends car in Jefferson County, Missouri

By Ryan Bradley, Esq.

Two people were hospitalized Thursday after a Missouri tractor trailer accident on Interstate 55 in Jefferson County, Missouri.

The accident occurred on southbound I-55 near Route Z, according to the initial crash report filed by the Missouri State Highway Patrol. Brittany Charboneau, 22, was stopped in her 2002 Pontiac Sunfire in the left lane. A 1996 Kenworth Conventional tractor trailer, driven by Walter Rodriguez-Martinez, 34, was also traveling southbound in the left lane behind Charboneau?s car.

The tractor trailer rear ended Charboneau?s car, pushing it into another vehicle, a 2001 Chevrolet Cavalier driven by Charlene Townsend, 66.

Charboneau suffered serious injuries and was transported to Jefferson Regional Medical Center. Townsend was also taken to Jefferson Regional with moderate injuries. Rodriguez-Martinez was uninjured.

All drivers were wearing a seat belt.

The investigating officer did not say why Charboneau?s vehicle was stopped in the left lane of the highway. Typically, though, negligence on the part of the at-fault driver is assumed in rear-end collision cases. Still, if a Missouri personal injury lawyer is called to represent any of the drivers involved, this piece of information will be needed.

The other major pieces of information that a St. Louis area tractor trailer accident attorney will seek is the background of the big rig and its driver. The driver is supposed to keep a log of all his driving to ensure that he does not violate any trucking regulations.

Full post as published by Missouri Accident Lawyer Blog on March 19, 2009 (boomark / email).