Three September days in Columbus brought forth three accidents involving a tractor trailer and a smaller vehicle. In the first two accidents, the occupants of the car were injured, but the third accident ended in the death of the vehicle’s driver.
In the third and fatal accident, a 91-year-old man driving a pickup truck had just exited a highway and was at the end of a ramp leading to another highway. The driver found himself in the path of a tractor trailer on the second highway. The tractor trailer could not stop in time and crashed into the pickup truck, throwing it on one side. The accident was so serious that freeing the pickup truck’s trapped driver necessitated the Jaws of Life. The 91-year-old man passed away from his injuries in the hospital.
According to a news report, the accident happened because the driver of the pickup truck got in the path of the semi. Even though this was allegedly the case, it is not clear who was at fault in the crash. Police did not indicate whether the driver of the tractor trailer was speeding or what the road conditions were in the area of the crash. The layout of the ramps in the area may be a contributor to the fatal accident.
If the demised man’s family members have suffered grief and distress at his wrongful death and wish to penalize the offender — be it the tractor trailer’s driver or Columbus’s roads and highway authority — then a consultation with a personal injury attorney may prove helpful. Such an attorney may be able advise family members as to whether they are eligible to claim compensatory damages to ease their understandable emotional suffering. Aware that potential clients have endured a tragedy, most personal injury lawyers work with clients using a compassionate approach.
Source: Beaver Dam Daily Citizen, “91-year-old Randolph man dies in collision,” Sept. 15, 2011