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Archive for the ‘California Truck Accidents’ Category

TORRANCE, CA — A motorcycle and semi truck accident occurred in Los Angeles resulting in the death of the motorcyclist. KTLA News reports that a man was killed when his motorcycle crashed into a disabled semi truck parked on the 405 Freeway in the Torrance/ Lawndale area  of Los Angeles bursting into flames.

Motorcycle bursts into flames after crashing into disabled semi truck parked on 405 Freeway in Los Angeles due to mechanical difficulties. Motorcyclist pronounced dead at the scene. Photo by KTLA

The driver of the semi truck had moved to the left carpool lane on the northbound side, near Hawthorne Boulevard due to mechanical problems.

A California Highway Patrol sergeant who was at the scene reports that the motorcyclist was speeding and could not stop in time. He crashed into the back of the semi truck causing his motorcycle to burst into flames as a result of the impact.

The motorcyclist was pronounced dead at the scene. His name and age were not immediately released.

The CHP sergeant said it’s possible the man was part of a motorcycle club in the area that gets together on Wednesday and Thursday nights. The sergeant said club members often like to “rev up the speed” following the gatherings, and had the man been going slower, he may have been able to stop in time.

The sergeant said witnesses reported the man was traveling “way above the maximum speed limit.”

At least two lanes of the northbound 405 were shut down while the cleanup and investigation continued.

The lanes were expected to reopen before the morning rush hour.

KTLA News contributed to this story.

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SUNLAND, CA – A couple and boy were killed early Sunday morning just after 5:00 am on the westbound 210 freeway in Los Angeles County just before the Sunland Blvd exit when an SUV crashed into the rear of a semi truck that was legally parked on the shoulder of the road. Two other children survived when they were pulled from the SUV by a passerby.

Burned out SUV on the 210 Freeway involved in fiery crash in Sunland, CA

The couple who were killed in the accident were described as a man and woman in their 40s. The boy who died was believed to be 14 years old. A Los Angeles Fire Department spokesman said that an 11-year-old boy and a 9-year-old girl were dragged from the back of the burning SUV by man described as a passing “good Samaritan.”

The SUV, was pulling a trailer carrying recreational vehicles (bicycles and other toys). The burned bodies of a man, woman and a teenage boy were found in the SUV.

Location of fatal semi truck accident on the 210 Freeway in Sunland, CA

The big rig was carrying a load of lettuce.  Sgt Gus Torres of the California Highway Patrol (CHP) said that preliminary indications are that the big rig driver was stopped fully on the right shoulder … “For what reasons we still don’t know.” Sgt Torres went on to say that the right shoulders are typically designated for emergency stops.

The side of the road, especially between the La Tuna Canyon and Sunland exits on the 210 freeway, are known as places where truckers stop – especially at night to rest, but it’s only supposed to be for emergencies. Why the lettuce truck stopped remains under investigation.

The big rig semi truck was parked well inside the shoulder. What made the SUV veer off the road remains a mystery. Since that driver is dead it leaves investigators piecing together information from witnesses and the two young survivors who are at Children’s Hospital and who are expected to make it.

Below is a Google street view of the section of the 210 freeway where the accident occurred. You can click the mouse and drag it to pan around the scene of the accident.

View Larger Map

If you need information about truck accident law pertaining to Los Angeles, California, talk to a Los Angeles truck accident attorney who is qualified to answer your questions. At TruckAccidents360.com, you can find a California truck accident lawyer who specializes in representing victims involved in tractor trailer, big rig truck injury accidents.

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SAN FRANCISCO CA – Since the recent truck accident at the S-curve on the Bay Bridge in San Francisco, we feel it is important to show this video on truck safety. The speaker is Steve Gordon,  a nationwide semi  truck accident lawyer, from the law firm of Gordon & Elias.  The video shows how improper loads can cause big rig and semi truck accidents.

Watch video explaining truck safety regarding improper loads

STEVEN GORDON:  I’ve been asked to speak about improper loading or stacking of the cargo.  This is a problem that happens quite a bit.  There are various kids of loads.  There are pipes, there are boxes, containers, fluids, so obviously in each given instance of what the load is you have to look at was it improperly loaded or maintained or latched, lashed down.

Load issues can actually be dangerous for the trucker as well.  There was a trucker out in California recently killed because he had to stop and the load shifted and came right through the cab and killed him.

So, what you need to understand here when a load issue is a cause of an accident, it’s not just the trucker and the truck company, but it’s the loading company who loaded this that also could be at fault and if so should be sued.  So you may have more defendants to understand so the jury can assess where the fault lies.

But loading and improper loading cause many different accidents.  For instance, a trucker when he’s turning, it shifts, causes the truck to turn over and lands on somebody.  This often times results in an accident.

Improper lashing down of loads can cause you losing a load.  We’ve all seen on the interstate where when you’re driving along all of the sudden, you know, something is right there and it causes an accident.

That’s the fault of the trucker and the truck company and the loading company.

So improper loading can cause quite an extensive array of accidents, and your truck accident lawyer needs to understand this and assess the situation properly

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San Francisco Oakland Bay Bridge – The CHP and fire investigators are on Yerba Buena Island examining the remains of a fatal big rig accident which started 200 feet above their heads when the truck driver literally drove off the S-curve on the Bay Bridge at 3:30 AM.

San Francisco big rig truck accident on bay bridge; driver plummets 200 feet to his death

The CHP is still not revealing the name of the driver who died on Yerba Buena Island after his truck came off the Bay Bridge, flew 200 feet then crashed. He was a man from Hayward, CA.

The truck was disintegrated. It was a produce truck from a trucking company out of San Ramon, hauling pears. The driver was traveling westbound on the Bay Bridge in the right lanes.

Eyewitnesses say he drove along at 50 mph, then came to the S-curve where you’re supposed to slow down to 40 mph. He didn’t do that. According to the CHP, he tried to adjust at the last minute, his load shifted and he went off the edge, came all the way down and crashed on Yerba Buena Island.

Sargeant Trent Cross of the California Highway Patrol (CHP) stated that there are Caltrans engineers at the site who are looking at the Bay Bridge to make sure it is structurally safe and also that it is important that the CHP conduct a thorough investigation because there was a loss of life and there was some significant damage as far as the vehicle dropping 200 feet.

The CHP also says that there is nothing wrong with the design of the bridge – even with that S-curve – that zig-zag in the bridge and that there have been about 40 fender benders since it went in on Labor Day. The CHP says that obviously, when you have over a quarter million vehicles per day going over this bridge and you only have 40 fender benders, then there is nothing wrong with the bridge that a little slowing down wouldn’t help. According to the CHP when this driver had his load shift, it was too much and it came over the edge.

There was some concern earlier that there might be someone else in the truck, but it was later determined that there was no one else in the truck. There was 150 gallons of diesel fuel. According to the driver logs that were in his cab, the driver had just filled up. He had a full tank of gas, so there was some concern of what that’s going to do environmentally. The San Francisco Fire Department put down some absorbant material to try to soak up some of that.

Location of San Francisco Oakland Bay Bridge Semi Truck accident

So the story is that the driver is dead after driving his semi off the Bay Bridge at the S-curve, crashing on Yerba Buena Island.

This is just the latest accident at the S-curve. Last month a big rig hauling groceries flipped over while taking the S-curve too fast. Nobody was injured in the October 14 crash that time but the truck’s load spilled across the upper decks and closed the bridge trapping drivers for some nine hours. The spilled groceries had to be hauled off by hand until the big rig could be uprighted and cleared. The CHP says the driver didn’t realize the configuration had changed and was going too fast to make the curve. The speed limit is 40 mph but a lot of drivers enter that curve going too fast.

If you need information about truck accident law pertaining to San Francisco, California, talk to a San Francisco truck accident attorney who is qualified to answer your questions. At TruckAccidents360.com, you can find a San Francisco truck accident lawyer who specializes in representing victims involved in semi truck, big rig truck injury accidents.

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PASADENA, CA – On Oct 9, 2009, a Los Angeles County Superior Court judge dismissed murder charges against Marcos Costa, the 44 year old driver of a semi truck from Everett, Massachusetts who was involved in a tragic accident on April 1, 2009. In the semi truck accident, a 12-year-old girl and her father, Angel Posca, both of Palmdale, CA, were killed when the big rig crashed into their car. The semi truck came barreling down the hill on the Angeles Crest Highway striking their car, then continuing on through the Foothill Boulevard intersection in La Crescenta, Flintridge.

Marcos Costa in a Los Angeles County Courtroom

In the semi truck accident, the big rig’s brakes went out as Costa was coming down the Angeles Crest Highway approaching the intersection at Foothill Blvd. The big rig struck the vehicle carrying Posca and his daughter north of the intersection, then continued on down the hill colliding with several vehicles along the way. The truck came to a stop when it plowed into the Flintridge Bookstore.

Below you can see the skid marks from the semi truck skidding to a stop in the Flintridge Bookstore.

Scene of the truck accident where the skid marks end in the Flintridge Bookstore

Costa was originally charged with two counts of vehicular manslaughter. Subsequently, a Los Angeles County grand jury returned an indictment of two counts of murder against him with additional charges of great bodily injury to be added to the vehicular manslaughter charges. Costa also had three counts of reckless driving, causing injury to three other victims.

Costa is being held in custody on $600,000 bail. Even though the murder charges have been dismissed, he still faces five charges of vehicular manslaughter and reckless driving. Costa’s attorney, Steve Meister, said “This case was a tragic accident, not a murder.” If convicted, he faces more than eight years in prison.

In response to the tragic April 1st semi truck accident, immediately afterwards a 90-day ban was instituted prohibiting five-axle trucks from traversing the steep Angeles Crest Highway between the 210 Freeway and the Angeles Forest Highway. The temporary ban was made permanent at a later time.

Below is a Google street view of the scene of the accident at the intersection of Angeles Crest Highway and Foothill Blvd. You can click and drag your mouse button and pan around and see the storefront of the Flintridge Bookstore where the semi truck came to a halt.

View Larger Map

Los Angeles truck accident lawyer for victims, Steve Gordon, talks about how How Bad Truck Brakes Cause Accidents. See video.

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BAKERSFIELD, CA – On Thursday, Sep 24 about 9:00 am, a semi truck big rig took a turn too fast on Highway 58 near Bakersfield, California about two miles east of Broome Road and tipped over, spilling a load of empty tequila bottles. The truck accident caused westbound lanes of Hwy 58 between Bakersfield and Tehachapi to be shut down until about 4:30 pm later that afternoon.

Ed Smith, public information officer for the California Highway Patrol (CHP) reported that the driver of a big rig semi truck was heading westbound on Highway 58 when he took a curve too fast. That caused the trailer of the big rig to overturn and slam into another big rig. The truck crash spilled empty tequila bottles all over the roadway. No injuries were reported.

Crews spent several hours cleaning up the mess. All westbound lanes were closed for longer than expected. At least one westbound lane of Highway 58 east of Broome Road remained closed until 4:30 pm.

The semi truck accident occurred when the 35 year old driver, Lakhvir Pandher Singh, was attempting to pass another tractor-trailer driven by 43 year old Jorawar Singh, when he lost control of the big rig and overturned. Smith stated that Pandher Singh was attempting to pass another big rig at an unsafe speed while he was going into a left-hand turn. The semi truck overturned and stuck the back half of the other tractor trailer rig. Both drivers were from Fresno, California.

Semi truck accident on Highway 58 near Bakersfield, CA - Photo: Nick Smirnoff

Smith said that when the truck was removed from the highway at about 2:20 pm,  lifting it from the pavement caused more of the cargo to fall out onto the roadway. This is what extended the cleanup time longer than expected.

Google street view – Click and drag your mouse button to get the lay of the land and to pan around the scene of the accident:

View Larger Map

Smith also stated that the westbound lanes of Highway 58 were closed at State Route 202 until shortly after 5 pm, Thursday. During this time motorists had to detour over to Woodford Tehachapi Road to be able to reach Tehachapi or to be able to access Highway 58 at Keene Ranch.

OCEANSIDE, CA – One person was killed in a semi truck accident on the southbound I-5 near Highway 78 at about 6:50 am this morning, Sep 17th. The semi-truck was traveling on the connector from the southbound Interstate 5 to the eastbound Highway 78 when it rolled on top of a sedan, killing one person.  San Diego county coroner’s office officials were dispatched to the scene at 7:13 am according to the California Highway Patrol (CHP).

Interstate 5 and Highway 78 near the Oceanside-Carlsbad border

The CHP closed the Cassidy Street onramp to southbound I-5, the Los Flores on-ramp at Jefferson, the south I-5 connector to Eastbound Highway 78  and the West Highway 78 to Southbound I-5 connector. The closures are expected to remain until noon.

The CHP also reported that a SigAlert was in effect while both lanes of the Eastbound Highway 78 connector were closed so investigators could gather evidence.

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Los Angeles Fire Truck Stuck in Sink Hole in North Hollywood, CA

NORTH HOLLYWOOD, CA – At about 6am this morning On Sep 8, 2009, I was awakened by the sound of hovering helicopters over our house in Studio City, CA just a few miles from the scene of a truck accident involving a Los Angeles Fire Department fire truck falling into a sink hole.

The Los Angeles Fire Department responded to a call about a broken water main in the Valley Village area of the San Fernando Valley in North Hollywood, California. A spokesman for the LA Fire Dept stated that the sinkhole was reported at 5:20am this morning. Four firefighters escaped the truck unharmed and no injuries were reported.

The sinkhole occurred only about two miles from the site of the water main rupture that flooded a portion of Studio City over the weekend. It formed at the intersection of Bellingham and Hartsook. This intersection is just east of Laurel Canyon Blvd. and just south of Magnolia Blvd. Wow! This is really close to my home! I took this photo fro my TV!

Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) spokeswoman Kim Hughes said that the fire truck was responding to a 6-inch cast iron pipe break on a small residential street. They didn’t realize that the broken water pipe caused the ground to be unstable.

A fire captain and engineer were able to climb out of the windows safely. Two more firefighters were able to jump from the rear of the fire truck when mud and water started encroaching into the interior of the truck.

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Jesse James survives Amtrak train that collides with semi truck in Monterey, California

Monterey, California – Jesse James, host of Motorcycle Mania and the former series Monster Garage, could’ve been killed yesterday afternoon when the Amtrak train he and his 11 year old son were riding on collided with a semi-truck hauling a load of tomatoes.

It has been reported that James and his son were among 279 passengers on an Amtrak train traveling through Monterey County, California, when it suddenly crashed through a semi truck which was  stopped on the tracks.

Amtrak and the California Highway Patrol confirmed no one was hurt.

James posted photos of the wreckage on his Twitter page, saying “This trip is turning out to be a real train wreck … train was going 70 mph, good thing the truck wasn’t Peterbuilt. Would have been Tragic.”

Jesse James is married to actress Sandra Bullock.

Truck Accidents 360 is a news blog where you can find truck accident and attorney information. If you are looking for an attorney or lawyer who specializes in big rig or semi truck truck injury litigation, you can find California truck accident attorneys here.

Fullerton, CA. – I live in Southern California so when I saw the breaking news last night that there was a major truck accident involved with a passenger vehicle on the Fullerton 57 Freeway, I knew it was serious. The accident occured at around 7:00 PM Pacific Time near the Chapman Avenue exit close to Cal State University Fullerton.

Deadly Big Rig Crash on Fullerton 57 Freeway. Watch video

According to the California Highway Patrol, the big rig semi-truck accident caused fatalities including the truck driver. Four others also suffered serious injuries and were taken to nearby hospitals.

It appears that a smaller compact car may have caused the semi truck to crash. All the passengers of the car were unharmed. The driver of the semi was not able to escape in time and died at the scene.

Fire Chief Dominguez stated that the big rig truck was loaded with frozen meats and apparently jackknifed and flipped over after striking the freeway guard safety rail. The fire chief also stated that they weren’t sure if the accident happened before or after the crash with a passenger vehicle.

Truck Accidents 360 is a news blog where you can find truck accident and attorney information. If you are looking for an attorney or lawyer who specializes in big rig or semi truck truck injury litigation, you can find California truck accident attorneys or Fullerton Truck accident lawyers at www.locatealawyer.com.