The last week of March was not a good week for trucks on the Florida Turnpike. Twice in the same week there were two separate crashes involving tractor-trailers. Crashes involving tractor-trailers are never simple, and they become even more hazardous and complex when tractor-trailers are crashing into each other.
The most recent of the week’s accidents saw a southbound tractor-trailer crash into the rear of another truck that had just pulled off the shoulder and into the path of the oncoming truck. It is unclear as to if the driver had seen the truck with its flashing lights pull from the shoulder, but the ensuing collision was nonetheless dramatic. The NY Truck Accident Lawyer also discovered that a fuel tank from one of the trucks came loose, and was struck by a Port St. Lucie woman. The fuel tank went airborne and spilled an estimated 50 gallons of diesel fuel onto the highway. This just added to the debris that was already scattered about the roadway.
To make bad matters even worse, a northbound tractor-trailer struck some of the debris that had spread to the opposite side of the highway causing it to jackknife. The driver of a box truck attempted to avoid the debris and crashed into the median. As a result of these crashes, both the north and southbound lanes of the Florida Turnpike were closed for several hours as the Florida Highway Patrol (FHP) conducted their investigations, and work crews cleaned up the debris from the early morning chain reaction of accidents. Fortunately, no one in any of these crashes was seriously injured. When accidents like this one take place in Brooklyn or Long Island, NY, a competent attorney is always called.
The accident that occurred just a few days prior to these began under similar circumstances. A slow moving truck with flashing lights pulled from the shoulder into the path of an oncoming tractor-trailer, which crashed into it. The southbound truck burst into flames, and the 28-year old driver continues to be treated for third-degree burns. The driver of the truck that merged from the shoulder into oncoming traffic was uninjured.
A Florida Highway Patrol spokesman stated that both accidents are still under investigation.
If you or someone you love has been involved, in a truck accident that has resulted in a serious injury or wrongful death, a New York Truck Accident Attorney can help.