Personal Injury Law

26 Injured, Four Seriously, in Missouri Pileup Including Truck That Failed to Stop

By Jeffrey Lowe

Twenty-six people were injured in a Missouri highway crash involving 18 vehicles, including a semi truck that rear-ended traffic stopped because of thick smoke. A Missouri Highway Patrol officer said that the accident would have been even worse if a second semi truck's driver had not stopped in time to avoid crashing into the other cars. As a Missouri 18-wheeler collision attorney, I commend the driver who was able to avoid worsening an already terrible accident, and I hope that those who were injured recover quickly and easily.

According to KAIT-8, a Jonesboro, Ark., ABC affiliate, the crash occurred in Stoddard County, Mo., near Essex, around noon on Sept. 6. A farmer had been burning trash near some equipment and accidentally caught a field on fire. The thick smoke from the fire left some drivers on nearby U.S. 60 unable to see the road in front of them. Several cars came to a stop as drivers attempted to cope with the smoke, and other vehicles crashed into the motionless cars. A semi truck was among the vehicles that rear-ended the stopped traffic. A second semi truck driver braked hard to avoid the 18-vehicle pileup. Missouri Highway Patrol Sgt. Dale Moreland said that the truck driver ?did an excellent job of controlling his truck, maintained it in his lane? [There were] several feet of skid marks, but he stopped before he got to them.?

Four of the 26 injured people suffered serious injuries: Jaclyn King, 18, of Poplar Bluff; Melissa Reeser of St. Louis; and Jackie Chamness, 51, and Lana Chamness, 61, both of Creal Springs. Among the others injured, one victim was as young as three years old. At least two people were airlifted to hospitals in Cape Girardeau and Memphis, and many others were transported by ambulance.

In my view as a St. Louis semi trailer crash lawyer, the only good news about this crash is that seven people involved in it managed to escape injury and that no one was killed. Police had not yet assigned fault in this accident at the time of the news report, but pile-up accidents like this often involve drivers who are following too closely and not paying enough attention to the traffic ahead of them. This is dangerous behavior for any driver, but for semi truck drivers, it?s much more so. Because large trucks weigh so much more than passenger cars, they can do much more damage than would result from a collision of two sedans. That means collisions involving semi trucks often result in grave injuries and death. The detailed regulations for truck drivers that govern their driving habits, the maintenance of their vehicles, and even their mental alertness, are part of state and federal governments? efforts to keep all drivers on the road safe. Unfortunately, some truck drivers and trucking companies ignore these safety rules for convenience or profit, putting people?s lives at risk.

Full post as published by Trucking Accident Attorney Blog on September 17, 2010 (boomark / email).