Truck Accidents 360 Newswire

Archive for the ‘Georgia Truck Accidents’ Category

SAVANNAH, GA – A 3 year old boy was killed when a semi truck crashed into a minivan carrying a family heading south on I-95 about 45 miles outside of Savannah, Georgia  in McIntosh County near mile marker 63 on December 27, 2009 about 12:30 pm.

Fatal semi truck crash on Interstate 95 just south of Savannah, GA

The Thornton family from Pittsburgh, PA was on its way to a vacation in Florida when the semi tractor-trailer plowed into the rear of their minivan, killing  3-year old Sean Thornton who was in a car seat at the time.

According to Georgia State Police, at the time of the accident, the minivan was being driven by his mother, Susan Thornton, 38 years old who is listed in critical condition at a hospital in Savannah, GA.

Location of fatal semi truck accident about 45 miles south of Savannah, GA on I-95

The boy’s father, Daniel Thornton, 47 years old, and two other children Christopher, age 8 and Sarah, age 5 were also in the vehicle at the time. All sustained injuries – some serious, but all were reported as non-life-threatening.

The accident occurred when heavy traffic forced the family’s vehicle to slow down to about 5 mph when the 18 wheeler, driven by Willie Hill, 50 years old from Jacksonville, FL, slammed into the back of the minivan. The force of the accident caused the vehicles to become entangled and to be shoved off the roadway into the woods by the side of the road, knocking down a couple of trees along the way.

According to witnesses, the big rig was travelling about 70 mph at the time and never braked before plowing into the van. According to a story in the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, Hill could face criminal charges. Georgia State Patrol said that the accident is being investigated, but as of this morning, a spokeswoman from the district attorney’s office in McIntosh County said no charges had been filed.

Below is a Google street view of the approximate stretch of highway where the accident occurrred on Interstate 95 about 45 miles south of Savannah, GA. You can click and drag the mouse button to get a 360 degree view of the scene.

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EDGEFIELD, SC – On Monday, Oct  26, 2009 at about 7:00 am, a man driving a small pickup truck was killed when a piece of heavy equipment fell off the flatbed of a tractor trailer truck onto the pickup truck after the semi truck ran into a train trestle in Edgefield, SC. The semi truck accident occurred on a stretch of Augusta Road (Highway 25) about 25 miles from Augusta, GA.  Investigators believe that this fatal accident could have been avoided because the semi truck was driving on a stretch of road that is not intended for trucks.

Semi Truck Accident Location: Train Trestle on Augusta Road in Edgefield SC

The semi truck accident occurred because the trestle has a 13 foot clearance but the load that the semi truck was carrying was 14 feet. That is what caused the heavy load to fall off the flatbed trailer. Trucks are supposed to take a bypass route when they enter Edgefield on Hwy 25. The bypass is clearly marked with a sign that says “Thru Trucks Prohibited.”

Map of semi truck accident and truck bypass route

The deceased pickup truck driver has been identified by Deputy Coroner David Burnett as Jeremy Jay, 27 years old, from Edgefield. Burnett said that massive head trauma was the cause of death.

The semi truck driver was charged with failing to obey warning signs and for the height of the load. The heavy equipment was being hauled to Greenwood, SC.  The driver was from Houston, Texas.

The NBC station in Augusta, GA has provided a video where a residents in the area near the trestle tell a reporter that similar truck accidents are common and occur for the same reason. A neighbor points out that just a few months ago a truck hit the trestle and flipped over onto its side. Fortunately, in that accident, no one was hurt. Truck drivers are either unaware of the bypass route or rely too heavily on GPS systems instead of paying attention to the many signs on the road.

Below is a Google Street View of the scene of the accident. You can see a clear view of the Augusta Highway and the trestle where the accident occurred. You can click your mouse button and drag it around to get a feel of the lay of the land.

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Contact an Augusta truck accident attorney if you’ve been injured in a truck accident in Augusta, Georgia. Find a Georgia truck accident lawyer at TruckAccidents360.com today who specializes in representing victims involved in truck injury accidents.

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ATLANTA, GA – On Wednesday, Sep 9, 2009 at about 2:30 am, a woman was killed when her Ford Ranger pickup that she was driving truck struck a utility pole in Atlanta, Georgia. According to the Atlanta police, the truck accident occurred in front of the Kroger store near the intersection of Ponce de Leon and Somerset Terrace.  Police say that the driver was  identified as Drew Larimer, 24 years old, from Atlanta. We realize that this truck accident happened nearly a month ago, but we feel that the story is important.

Scene of the truck accident on Ponce de Leon Ave. in Midtown, Atlanta

The Atlanta police said that Larimer was speeding at the time then lost control of her vehicle when she slammed into the utility pole. The pickup truck overturned, then entrapped Larimer. Officers state that she died at the scene. Police investigators said that it is not known at this time if alcohol was a factor in the crash or not. They are waiting for toxicology reports to find out.

The eastbound lanes of Ponce de Leon Ave. were shut down for about two hours after the truck accident.

Google street view: Use your mouse to click and drag to pan around the scene of the truck accident in Atlanta, GA.

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Atlanta truck accident lawyers,  Gordon & Elias, have prepared an educational video explaining how bad truck brakes and poor maintenance can turn a 35-ton semi truck or tractor trailer into a killing machine.

When trying to establish what causes truck accidents many times the inspection reveals the brakes of the truck or trailer were the cause of the accident. That is why it is imperative that when you hire a Georgia truck accident lawyer that the lawyer understands this cause.

Truck Brakes Need to Be Inspected

The first thing one needs to know about truck brakes is that they are not fixed on the road and that there are many different types of brake problems. Most trucks use air brakes and most trucks require sealed lines. Often times there will be a leak in a line. These are the potential problems that need to be detected before the trucker goes out on the road.

The requirement for the trucking company is that they do what is called a pre trip inspection. Part of that pre trip inspection is the brakes. Many times a trucker will have bad brakes and stay on the road even though he is aware that the brakes are bad. He wants to just keep on going, obviously because maintenance costs money and the trucker doesn’t want to spend money.

This act of negligence can result in costs much greater than brake repairs. We are talking about the cost of a human life.

Trucking Companies are Responsible for Maintenance

“The truck company is suppose to take care of their trucks. If they don’t, they can be held liable”, says Steve Gordon, who is an expert Atlanta & Savannah truck accident attorney. ” But the buck stops with the truck driver in a sense because he or she is the one on the road with a 35-ton big rig that can turn into a killing machine at any given moment.”

Our Georgia truck accident lawyers have experts located nationwide and in Georgia including Atlanta, Albany, Augusta, Macon, Savannah and other metropolitan cities. Our experts, who we call upon, are literally truck brake specialists. They come, access the brakes and do what is necessary to determine if it was a braking issue and whether that was the cause of the accident.

Bad truck brakes can cause the truck to jacknife and skidmarks on the road can determine often times whether a tire or brake engaged stopping the tire.

A Trucking Accident Requires Expert Lawyers

Finally bad brakes can increase the stopping distance of the vehicle. For instance if the truck driver had good brakes, he could stop on time, but if the trucker had bad brakes then he would not be able stop on time.

Bad brakes and poor maintenance of brakes is an issue that is almost always present in a truck accident and needs to be assessed by qualified truck accident lawyers and their experts.

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