A dangerous truck accident out of Michigan this week has drivers here in North Carolina realizing just how dangerous it can be for drivers to share the roads with semi trucks.
The accident occurred on the southbound lanes of U.S. 23 near Ann Arbor. Emergency crews arriving first on the scene were confronted by a grim sight: a semi truck carrying a heavy load of gravel had overturned onto a passenger vehicle. It wasn’t clear how the accident had happened at first, but that didn’t matter at that moment; what mattered was trying to rescue the driver still trapped under the trailer.
Accident reconstructionists believe that the series of events went as such:
At around 1pm a tire blew out on the semi truck as it travelled south on U.S. 23. Police say that despite the heavy rain, it was at this point that the driver lost control of the big rig. The truck swerved into the left lane, smashing into the passenger vehicle being driven by the 58-year-old man from Flint, Michigan. When the two vehicles hit the guardrail, the force of the impact caused the trailer portion of the semi-truck to tip over onto the car, pinning it to the guardrail.
Nearly 25 to 30 rescue workers responded to the scene immediately, desperately trying to free the 58-year-old man. But the situation suddenly turned grim when, just after 2 pm, the man was pronounced dead.
Although alcohol does not appear to be a factor in this accident, police are continuing their investigation to find out what may have played into the fatal truck accident. Because the tire blew out on the semi truck, there is a possibility that the truck was not well maintained. If this were a factor, the trucking company could be held responsible for not maintaining a safe, working fleet of vehicle.
Source: annarbor.com, “U.S. 23 crash: Motorist killed when semitrailer overturns onto car,” Kyle Feldscher, Mar. 11, 2013
