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Florida Trooper Three Others Injured In Pile-Up

By Eddie Farah

A Florida Highway Patrol (FHP) trooper and three others were injured in an early morning crash on Interstate 4 Monday.

Driver Jack Duran, 45, of Orlando, was behind the wheel of a tractor-trailer traveling westbound when the FHP says he approached a construction zone around 2 a.m. His semi hit a construction vehicle which then hit a FHP trooper's vehicle, which then ran into another construction truck.

FHP trooper Maurice Hensley, 45, was in his car and had his emergency blue lights flashing to ensure drivers slowed down from the road construction ahead.

Hensley's car was between two construction trucks that also had flashing arrows and all were reported to be moving slowly in the center lane when the chain reaction began. Trooper Hensley was briefly trapped inside of his cruiser.

Duran is in serious condition and so is Hensley of Tampa along with construction workers William Pettet, 43, of Valrico, and Steven Cofield, 18, of Bradenton.

We are very sorry that someone in law enforcement doing his job was hurt in the line of work as were those who work to make our roads better. It is dangerous work and we wish everyone injured a speedy recovery.

Investigators will look to see if Duran applied his brakes at any time as he approached the slow-down. If he had fallen asleep, he will likely lose his commercial driver's license and could be charged.

Driver fatigue is a major factor in tractor-trailer accidents. The Department of Transportation (DOT) limits the number of hours a driver may be behind the wheel to 11-hours after 10 consecutive hours off duty. The hours must be kept in the driver's log.

In fairness, truckers tell us all the time that too often motorists do not pay attention to safety when driving around big-rigs. No doubt that is true. Remember they cannot stop quickly and cannot see you if you cannot see them in their rear view mirror. These drivers are vital to our economy and bringing us goods from around the country, so courtesy is appreciated and essential for safety.

But many are pushed to drive extra hours when they have not had enough rest so the trucking companies can maximize their profits. Let's hope this investigation does not stop with the driver, but goes all the way to the top including looking at the number of hours this driver had been on the road which may be available electronically as well as through a log sheet. #

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Eddie Farah

Full post as published by Jacksonville Personal Injury Lawyer on July 15, 2009 (boomark / email).