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Truck Accident Lawyer Blog

Covers trucking accidents and trucking accident legal news, cases, and issues with a focus on South Carolina Law.
By Michael Jeffcoat, Esq.

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Last Entry: September 03, 2009 at 10:21:09

Road Rage and Tractor Trailers are a Volatile Mix - Just Ask Carlos Perez

Posted on September 03, 2009
Imagine, one minute driving along the freeway without a care in the world, and the next minute looking in your rear view mirror and seeing nothing but the grill of a semi truck. That?s exactly what happened to Carlos Perez of Geneva, New York, on August 21, 2009...

* WARNING: THIS IS A VERY GRAPHIC VIDEO * Texting While Driving PSA

Posted on August 29, 2009
Click here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DGE8LzRaySk Proceed with caution here, but this video captures the truly awful consequences that arise when drivers do not look out for the other guy and operate their vehicles safely. In the aftermath of major collisions, we help people begin to pick up the pieces and put their lives back together...

Michigan Big Rig Wreck Causes Overpass to Melt

Posted on July 29, 2009
If anyone needs a reminder about just how dangerous truck accidents can be to the public, read this. On July 15, 2009 in Hazel Park, Michigan, a tractor-trailer exploded under an overpass causing the overpass itself to literally melt and disintegrate...

The Surface Transportation Authorization Act of 2009

Posted on June 25, 2009
On June 24, 2009 the committee that controls the highway and trucking issues in the U.S. House of Representatives (the House Transportation and Infrastructure?s Subcommittee on Highways and Transit) will be reviewing the language contained in the Surface Transportation Act of 2009...

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Driver Falls Asleep at the Wheel and Ends up Under a Tractor-Trailer

Posted on June 22, 2009
On June 2, 2009, Christine Osterholtz of Lakeland, Florida was heading eastbound on Interstate 4 when she fell asleep. She was traveling in the center lane and her vehicle drifted into the far right lane into the pathway of a tractor trailer being driven by Michael Dacunto of Spring Hill...

Tractor Trailer versus Ford Pick-Up in Greenville, South Carolina

Posted on June 04, 2009
According to reports, on June 3, 2009, four construction workers were on the way to their homes in Greenville, South Carolina, when the Ford pick-up they were in veered into oncoming traffic hitting the cab of tractor trailer head on. The collision caused a third vehicle to crash into the back of the big rig which was transporting a backhoe on a lowboy trailer...

Two Tractor Trailers Collide on 1-20

Posted on May 29, 2009
On May 20, 2009, James Bush of Smyrna, Georgia lost his life when the big rig he was driving side-swiped another 18 wheeler near mile marker 158 in Interstate 20. Mr. Bush worked for the Pepsi Cola Company and was driving westbound on I-20 when he came upon Kenneth Woodfork of Doraville, Georgia, whose truck had broken down in the emergency lane...

Explosion at Orangeburg, South Carolina Trucking Company Takes the Lives of Two Employees

Posted on April 28, 2009
Two employees were killed and a third injured in an April 22 fueling mishap at Rutland Timber and Trucking, a company near Orangeburg, South Carolina. The employees were using a homemade fuel pump powered by the truck?s battery to move diesel fuel from a storage tank to a truck - when a massive explosion was touched off...

Dump Truck Tips Over Onto Honda Civic in Raleigh, North Carolina

Posted on April 28, 2009
Two Holly Spring citizens barely escaped death when a dump truck driver lost control and overturned onto their Honda Civic. Edmund Theodore Jackson, a resident of New Haven, Connecticut, was driving his dump trunk down Davis Road near Farm Pond Road when he lost control and veered off onto the right shoulder...

Truck Plummets from Interstate 77 Overpass onto Wilson Boulevard in Columbia, South Carolina

Posted on April 28, 2009
A tractor trailer truck exploded into flames after it veered off an I-77 overpass onto Wilson Boulevard in Columbia, South Carolina. The truck overturned which caused about 75 gallons of diesel fuel to spill out over the engine and ignite. The truck driver escaped certain death when two Richland County deputies and a nearby motorist pulled him to safety...

Fatal Truck Accident in Raleigh, North Carolina

Posted on April 27, 2009
A single vehicle incident on Interstate 40 in Raleigh, North Carolina, claimed the life of the driver of a tractor-trailer on April 27. The truck and box trailer burned after coming to rest at the outside shoulder. Several brave witnesses tried to rescue the driver from the wreckage, but were unable to free him before the fire engulfed the truck...

Tractor-Trailer Backs Over Good Samaritan in Moncks Corner

Posted on April 07, 2009
A construction worker trying to help free a stuck semi was killed on April 1 when the truck backed over him. The truck, pulling a flatbed load of concrete pipe, got stuck on a muddy dirt road. Kevin Armstrong, a site manager for Cooper River Construction, went behind the truck to attach a chain so a bulldozer could pull the truck free...

Collision With Semi Takes Life of Passenger Riding in Bed of Pickup

Posted on April 07, 2009
A Georgetown County, South Carolina collision between a Dodge Dakota and a logging truck on April 4, 2009, claimed the life of a passenger in the Dakota. The Dakota was travelling in the Pleasant Hill community around 8:15 PM. Unfortunately, the Dodge was carrying a load of yard debris that reportedly was hanging over the back of the vehicle, obscuring the view of its rear lights...

Georgia Dump Truck / Train Collision Takes Life of Driver

Posted on March 12, 2009
A February 20 collision near Savannah, Georgia between a dump truck and two trains claimed the life of the dump truck driver. The collision occurred near the entrance to the City of Savannah?s water treatment plant in Port Wentworth, Georgia. The driver of the dump truck, Solomon Mainer, worked for a contractor removing sediment from the ponds at the treatment plant...

Family Receives a Settlement After the Death of Eleven Year Old Boy in Bus Wreck

Posted on November 19, 2008
As reported in the press today, the family of a young boy who was lost in a church bus wreck earlier this year has reached a settlement with the insurance companies who represent the driver of the bus. Young Austin Green passed away from injuries he received in the January 23, 2008 crash...

Lexington Tractor Trailer Accident Claims the Lives of a South Carolina Couple

Posted on November 18, 2008
One moment, Perry Miller and Patricia Miller were enjoying their drive, and the next, their Honda Accord was thrown off Interstate 20 south of Lexington, South Carolina in what is now being described as a "freak" tractor trailer accident. Investigators are still trying to piece together what exactly happened in the October 28 crash...

Raleigh, North Carolina Gas Tanker Fire Injures Driver

Posted on September 17, 2008
A gasoline tanker merging onto westbound I-440 from Interstate 40 overturned and exploded just before 1 a.m. on August 26, 2008 in Raleigh, North Carolina. A witness reported that the tanker was clearly speeding when the trucker lost control of his rig...

Four Vehicle Tractor-Trailer Wreck Injures Two Near Savannah, Georgia

Posted on September 17, 2008
A trucker was cited for following too close after a 4 vehicle wreck in Effingham County, Georgia on September 14, 2008. The truck driver was following a Ford F-250 on Georgia Highway 17, when the Ford slowed to make a turn. The big rig struck the rear of the Ford, and then swerved into the oncoming lane, before hitting a mail truck head-on...

Three Perish in Florence County, South Carolina Collision with Logging Truck

Posted on September 17, 2008
Three of ten passengers lost their lives on July 29, 2008 when their Toyota van collided with a logging truck on Interstate 95. The collision occurred at about 11:45 p.m. near the mile marker 170 rest area. The Florence County Coroner identified the victims as Abdurahman Abdurahman, age 20, Sofonias Debebe, also age 20, and Deraa Hago, age 8...

Columbus, North Carolina Tanker Truck Crash

Posted on September 16, 2008
A tanker truck crashed into a concrete median on Interstate 26 in Polk County, North Carolina last month, which shut down the interstate. The tanker truck crashed into the barrier wall and then flipped onto its side. Chunks of concrete from the wall were thrown all over the interstate...

Administration Continues to Defy Congress on Mexican Truck Issue

Posted on September 09, 2008
I?ve reported previously on the Bush Administration?s continued efforts to cram down the nation?s throat a program allowing Mexican trucks full access to the interior of the U.S. Because the trucks and the drivers? licensing aren?t close to U.S. standards, I have opposed this program...

Warren County, GA Wrecks Show Need for Seatbelts

Posted on September 09, 2008
Two single-car incidents last month on I-20 in Warren County, Georgia ended vastly different for their victims. In both cases, seat belt use could have made a difference. The first wreck was witnessed by Georgia State Trooper First Class Powell Allen, who was driving along rain-soaked Interstate 20 on the way to a separate wreck scene...

Tanker Truck Collision Takes Lives of Two in Sumter County, SC

Posted on September 09, 2008
The collision between a fuel oil tanker truck and a Saturn Vue in the evening of August 20, 2008, ended with the deaths of the two occupants of the car and injuries to the truck driver. The wreck happened around 9:00 p.m. near the Florence county line, at the intersection of Highway 53 and Highway 341, at Hobbs Crossroads...

GAO Report Highlights Concerns of Medically Unfit Truckers

Posted on September 09, 2008
A recent report from the U.S. Government Accountability Office found that about 563,000 drivers in the DOT commercial drivers database also were rated as 100% disabled by other U.S. agencies. A House Transportation subcommittee had asked for a study of the scope of the problem of medically unfit commercial drivers on the road...

Familiar Story of Truck Overturning on Interstate Ramp-With a Twi$t

Posted on July 29, 2008
This one was just too strange not to pass along. On July 16, a tractor-trailer travelling too fast overturned on the ramp between I-85 and I-77 in Charlotte, North Carolina when the cargo shifted. Unfortunately, this happens all too frequently, which I recently commented on...

Prosperity, South Carolina Truck vs. Train Collision

Posted on July 29, 2008
Thankfully, no one was seriously injured in a July 16, 2008, collision between a CSX train and a big rig pulling an empty trailer. Witness statements indicate that the signals were flashing and the driver stopped, but then tried to beat the train. The train struck the trailer of the rig, which probably spared serious injuries...

One-Year Old Among Victims of I-40 Collision in North Carolina

Posted on July 29, 2008
A seven-vehicle collision was touched off by a tractor-trailer plowing into the rear of an SUV on Interstate 40 east of Asheville, North Carolina on July 2nd. Westbound traffic had backed up due to a lane closure while crews trimmed trees beside the highway...

Two-truck Collision in Charlotte, North Carolina Causes Chemical Spill

Posted on July 29, 2008
Charlotte Fire Department?s HazMat team responded to a collision between a FedEx truck and another truck on Interstate 85 on June 27, 2008. After the FedEx truck was struck in the rear, a strange blue liquid was seen leaking from the rear door. The North Carolina Department of Transportation closed several lanes of northbound I-85 as the HazMat team worked to clean up the chemical...

Lake Marion, SC Area Collision Claims Life of Driver

Posted on July 29, 2008
A heavy load may have contributed to a Berkeley County, SC accident involving a landscaping company worker on June 25, 2008. Tim Marshall was driving a one ton pickup truck, pulling forklift on a trailer, when wasn?t able to stop at a stop sign at Canady Branch Road and U...

Fatal Combine - Tractor Trailer Collision

Posted on July 29, 2008
The South Carolina Highway Patrol continues to investigate a collision between a tractor trailer and a John Deere combine on Highway 178 in Lexington County on June 9. The combine was traveling east when its driver pulled over to let cars pass. The driver of a Freightliner rig attempted to pass, but struck the combine...

$7 Million Settlement for Victims of I-85 Truck Wreck

Posted on July 29, 2008
On November 21, 2006, Daniel Becker and his mother, Pamela, were on their way from Mooresville, North Carolina to join family in Alabama for Thanksgiving. Around 10:30 p.m., as they passed through Oconee County, South Carolina, the driver of a northbound rig pulling two trailers lost control of his vehicle...

Motorcycles Get a Shorter Wait at S.C. Stoplights

Posted on July 29, 2008
A new law in South Carolina allows those on motorcycles, bicycles, and mopeds to proceed through a red light after two full minutes of waiting. Under the new provision, the drivers of these vehicles may treat the red light as a stop sign after 120 seconds...

Charleston I-26 Collision Takes the Lives of Mother & Daughter

Posted on July 29, 2008
A North Charleston mother and one of her twin 15 year-old daughters died recently following a collision with a cement truck on Interstate 26 near Summerville, South Carolina . The 15 year old, Marcushire Akabidavis, was driving, while her mother, Christina Akabidavis was in the front passenger seat of their Honda...

Insurance Foxes Rank Henhouse Security

Posted on May 13, 2008
The anti-justice U.S. Chamber of Commerce?s prestigious-sounding "Institute for Legal Reform" released its annual survey ranking state legal systems? fairness to corporations. South Carolina ranked 43rd. For once, a low ranking is good news for South Carolina?s citizens...

Recent Truck Spills on I-26 in South Carolina Remind Us of Dangers

Posted on April 03, 2008
Two tanker trucks overturned on South Carolina Interstate 26 exit ramps in the past week, highlighting the dangers the public faces from inattentive truck drivers. The first incident occurred at the I-26/U.S. 301 interchange in Orangeburg County. The South Carolina Highway Patrol indicated the driver of a tanker truck carrying sodium bisulfate decided too late to exit I-26 and ran off the ramp because he was traveling too fast to handle the curve...

The Wal-Mart "Subrogation" Case - or Why Much of the Verdict and Settlement Funds May Not End Up Going to the Victim

Posted on April 02, 2008
One of the reasons that it is so important to fully compensate injured people is that the injured person may have a lot of financial responsibilities from the incident that you may not be aware of. For example, after the injured person's attorney reaches a settlement with an at-fault driver, most members of the public assume that the money, minus attorney fees and costs, goes straight to the injured victims...

$20.2 Million Verdict Against Trucking Company After Deaths of 3 Teens

Posted on March 20, 2008
On the July 4th weekend in 2002, Christina Chakonas and Diana Kakidas had plans. They were going to watch the fireworks, then head to a dance club. No drugs, no alcohol, just have some fun. Their group met a group of boys and one of the boys, Adam McDonald, got into Christina?s car for the drive to the club...

Dave Swanner to the Rescue

Posted on February 27, 2008
South Carolina's quintessential lawyer-blogger, Myrtle Beach's Dave Swanner, has been blogging on legal topics by way of his South Carolina Trial Law Blog for quite a while now. I always appreciate the high quality of the information that Dave offers...

South Carolina Highway Patrol Trooper Fatally Injured in Accident

Posted on February 06, 2008
In a tragic turn of events, Lance Corporal James Haynes, an eleven year veteran of the South Carolina Highway Patrol, died early Friday morning in an accident as he responded to a tractor trailer collision. Corporal Haynes?s patrol car left the rain-slicked roadway near Orangeburg, South Carolina and struck a utility pole...

Four Truck Wreck in Bamberg County, South Carolina Leaves One Driver Dead

Posted on January 08, 2008
A logging truck on Highway 321 north of Olar, South Carolina lost a tire Monday morning, setting off a chain of events leading to a truck collision that took the life of one driver. The logging truck, driven by Eddie Best of Orangeburg, was southbound on Highway 321, followed at some distance by two empty tractor trailers...

A Trucking Case that Helped Bring Down a Governor

Posted on January 08, 2008
The tragic story of how Duane and Janet Willis lost six of their children illustrates why it is so important to seek justice after a truck accident. The Reverand and Mrs. Willis were traveling through Milwaukee on I-94 in November, 1994 on their way to their adult son?s home for a birthday party...

Tanker Truck Hits Driver Pushing Disabled Car Off I-20

Posted on December 17, 2007
Debra Minder was fatally injured early December 15 in Aiken County, South Carolina as she tried to push her stalled car out of traffic near mile marker 31 on Interstate 20. Ms. Minder, of Eastover, South Carolina, was on the driver?s side of her car, while her fianc� pushed from the rear of the car...

South Carolina Trucker Who Forced Closure of I-26 Charged

Posted on December 13, 2007
The South Carolina Highway Patrol has charged Elijah Love of North Augusta, South Carolina, with driving too fast for conditions relating to the incident that closed westbound Interstate 26 in Columbia on Tuesday, December 11. Mr. Love?s tanker truck overturned on the curving overpass interchange between I-26 and I-126...

There Has Just Been a Serious Accident . . . What Now?

Posted on December 12, 2007
It is a horrifying experience when you have been seriously injured in an auto accident, or when a loved one has been lost in a traffic accident fatality. It can be especially traumatic when you don't completely understand where you go from here. There are important steps to take and questions that need to be asked...

Tractor Trailers are a Major Hazard

Posted on December 11, 2007
A wreck in South Carolina involving a tractor trailer can have awful consequences. Big rigs can weigh over 80,000 pounds. The typical four-wheeled car weighs just 3,000 pounds. Because of the massive size of eighteen wheelers, a wreck with one of these monsters can easily cause serious injuries and even fatal results...

Two Car Collision Takes the Life of Gilbert, South Carolina Child

Posted on December 11, 2007
A Sunday evening collision between an SUV and a Toyota Avalon resulted in 9 people being taken to local hospitals. One of the passengers, three year old Jakob Miller of Lexington, South Carolina, died of his injuries at Lexington Medical Center. Our sincere condolences go out to his family...

South Carolina DOT Maintenance Foreman Perishes

Posted on December 10, 2007
Standra Jones, a long-time South Carolina DOT worker and married father of two, was fatally injured when a pickup truck ran off Interstate 26 early Thursday morning, striking him as he supervised a barrier cleaning project. Mr. Jones was rushed to Lexington Medical Center, but doctors were unable to save him...

Orangeburg, South Carolina Tractor-Trailer Wreck Claims the Life of Young Charlotte Woman

Posted on December 04, 2007
Early on Saturday morning, December 1st, a Freightliner truck on I-26 near Orangeburg, South Carolina rear-ended the Suzuki automobile in which Danielle Davis was riding. Ms. Davis, a 21 year old resident of Charlotte, died from her injuries. The driver, Jennifer Davis, and another passenger in the car, Rose Jackson, were injured and transported to a local hospital...

Trucker Found Guilty in Illinois Negligent Homicide Trial

Posted on December 04, 2007
A McHenry County, Illinois judge has found Vincente Zepeda guilty of eight counts of negligent homicide and one felony count of failure to inspect his vehicle. The charges stemmed from an October, 2007, incident in which the defendant slammed his 35-ton tractor trailer into the rear of a tour bus near a toll plaza on Interstate 90...

Driver of Deadly July North Charleston Collision Faces Charges in Another Crash

Posted on December 04, 2007
The trucker at the center of a multiple fatality crash on I-526 on July 14, 2007 faces charges of DUI near his hometown in North Carolina. Bobby Davis was arrested following a November 2 incident in which he went careening over a mailbox and through a yard before crossing the road and crashing into a tree...

Longs, South Carolina Woman Succumbs to Injuries from Veterans Day Motorcycle Accident

Posted on November 26, 2007
Motorcycle enthusiasts Debra and David Carlson were both injured when a vehicle reportedly pulled out in front of their motorcycle on S.C. 90 in Horry County on November 11. Despite wearing a helmet, Mrs. Carlson suffered grievous injuries in the collision...

Happy Thanksgiving!

Posted on November 21, 2007
I awoke this morning with devout thanksgiving for my friends, the old and the new. Ralph Waldo Emerson Here's wishing each of you a happy and safe Thanksgiving holiday. I am thankful everyday for the opportunities I have to do the work that I do...

House of Representatives Votes to Prohibit Pilot Program That Would Have Allowed Mexican Truckers Full Access to U.S.

Posted on November 21, 2007
The U.S. House of Representatives voted November 14 against spending our tax money on the Mexican trucker program. This time, the vote was to accept a compromise version of the Department of Transportation funding bill that included the prohibition. This is the same program I have written about before that would allow Mexican truckers to travel virtually anywhere in the United States, without complying with the same safety regulations as U...

Why All The Fuss About Tractor Trailer Wrecks?

Posted on November 21, 2007
Thousands and thousands of trucks are on the roads - every minute of every day. By some estimates, nearly one out of four of those trucks have safety violations. These safety violations put all of us at risk. Wrecks involving tractor trailers are not just like any other motor vehicle accident...