Personal Injury Law

Southern Illinois Woman Suffers Minor Injuries After Truck Allegedly Ran Her Off Road

By Jeffrey Lowe

Two women are uninjured and another suffered only minor injuries after a crossover collision, The Southern reported July 6. Illinois state police said Kyra Rivera of Potter Springs, Georgia was driving south when she was forced off the road by a semitrailer truck. She crossed into the opposing lane and struck an SUV driven by Sara Gordon of Olmstead, who suffered minor injuries. Rivera and her passenger, Leslie Heslip Jackson, were not injured, and the truck?s driver was not named in the story. However, both of the vehicles in the crash suffered severe damage.

This accident caught my eye as a Southern Illinois semi truck accident lawyer because no truck was involved in the actual collision. Nonetheless, if the Illinois state police?s account of the facts is correct, this was an accident that was probably caused by a large commercial truck. As many highway drivers know, big rigs take up a lot of room simply because of their large size and length. Once you factor in the added stopping distance these heavy trucks need -- which every driver should do -- the amount of space they need becomes even bigger. Under those circumstances, it?s easy to see how careless driving by a truck driver could force someone off the road.

If that?s the case, this truck driver may be guilty of leaving the scene of an accident, a crime in Illinois, Missouri and all other states. Many motorists don?t realize this, but forcing someone off the road and then leaving is considered a type of hit-and-run under the law, even if the vehicles never touched. And like all hit-and-run accidents, these types of crashes should be covered by uninsured and underinsured motorist auto insurance coverage. After all, if the hit-and-run driver is never found, there?s no insurance policy to collect on. Unfortunately, insurance companies can make it difficult to collect on legitimate UM/UIM claims, especially expensive ones, which is why drivers should always talk to a St. Louis tractor-trailer accident lawyer at the first hint of any trouble.

Full post as published by Trucking Accident Attorney Blog on July 10, 2009 (boomark / email).