Staten Island

Published on: May 28, 2012

Truck company owner being charged for a truck accident that killed 19 people and injured eight others

by Stephen Bilkis

The owner of a truck company faces charges today for 19 deaths and 8 injuries in an accident involving his container truck.

A group of 25 people from New York City and Staten Island, who were traveling in a party bus to a wedding party, were unsuspectingly hit by a large container truck. The minivan was sideswiped and turned over, according to a witness.

19 of the people in the van died on impact according to police reports. Fire trucks and ambulances came quickly to the horrific scene and began to cut people out of the vehicle.

Published on: May 9, 2012

One Confirmed Dead Following Collision with Fire Truck

by Stephen Bilkis

Sources have confirmed that one-person lie dead following a collision between the van that he was a passenger in and a fire truck. It has been reported that the fire truck was responding to a call when it struck a van that was making a left turn in front of the fire truck. Although the van had a green light when its driver initiated the turn, the fire truck struck the van on its left rear, thereby demolishing part of the van and killing one of the eight passengers. Six of the passengers and six firefighters were hospitalized with minor injuries, and two more whose conditions were listed as critical.

The 51-year old deceased man was identified to a Lawyer as a long-time resident of a state group home that is located in Willowbrook. The van was transporting individuals from the home to a day program that is offered by the Lifestyles for the Disabled. He was described as one who was always smiling and as being happy-go-lucky. He was also a competitor in Staten Island’s Special Olympics for the past several years.

The fire truck was responding to a reported fire, which turned out to be an overheated vehicle, and at the time of the accident had its lights and sirens activated. Immediately after the accident, the firefighters’ mission changed to that of rescuers and exited their vehicle to render aid to the accident victims. Firefighters had to use a hydraulic tool in order to extricate the victims from the van.

Published on: May 3, 2012

Tractor-Trailer Accident Hospitalizes Two

by Stephen Bilkis

A tractor-trailer accident sent two people to the hospital and caused significant traffic delays, reported the Lawyer over the weekend. The 42-year old truck driver had reportedly dozed off and awoken as his truck was drifting from the roadway, and as he attempted to maneuver his truck back onto the road, it rolled over.

Passing motorists stopped and pulled both of the men from the vehicle, and both men were lying in the grass beside the road when first responders arrived on the scene. Both the driver and his 29-year old passenger were taken to Rhode Island Hospital in Providence and were reported to have only minor injuries. The driver and his passenger were wearing seatbelts at the time of the accident. The truck, it was learned, was carrying Sears-brand appliances, which did not spill from the truck during the accident. Fortunately, this was a one-vehicle accident, which could have been much worse.

The accident tied up traffic for several minutes as work crews removed the vehicle from the roadway. This task was not easy for it required workers to remove a section of the guardrail before they could remove the truck. It is unclear as to whether or not workers replaced that section of guardrail immediately or returned to replace it at a later time. It required a 12-man towing crew to remove the damaged truck.

Published on: April 14, 2012

Truck Accident Could Bring Legal Troubles

by Stephen Bilkis

A routine morning trip to school turned into a tragedy on Tuesday morning outside of Louisville, when a dump-truck driver collided with the back of a school bus on its morning route. Thirteen students from the Jefferson County Public School System, along with the driver of their bus, were injured and transported to local area hospitals for treatment, reported a source who is connected to the case. The bus was traveling north on Interstate 65, and the truck accident occurred in the vicinity of the Watterson Expressway.

Kosair Children’s Hospital received the injured children, all of whom were from 6 to 9 years old. Doctors at the hospital said that the students were suffering from minor back pain and mild neck injuries. While many of the students were taken directly to the hospital, others were taken on to school. Of the group that actually arrived at the school, many subsequently reported head and neck pain and were taken to the hospital as well. The Lawyer reporting on the case mentioned that these injuries are characteristic of a highway speed collision, and alluded to the fact that these types of truck accidents can frequently be more deadly.

Additional information about the accident was not available at the time of this article’s publication, pending the completion of the investigation. Police have not indicated whether the driver of the dump truck will be charged with a crime, although a witness said it was likely in a case like this that criminal charges could be filed. These accidents are uncommon in Staten Island and New York City.

Published on: March 26, 2012

Luck was with this semi loaded with grain

by Stephen Bilkis

This grain loaded semi trucker was minding his own business and went to turn a corner in town and got stuck. Luckily, no one was beside him when he attempted to make the limited turn. His rear trailer tires hit the stop light pole, damaging two of the rear axles, which meant the truck could not move, explained the witness.

They say that the truth is often stranger than fiction and this seems to be the case here. Who would have thought that a big rig would get stuck while turning a corner? This does raise a few interesting questions for the police such as, given the size of the big rig, what was he doing on downtown streets instead of the usual bypass routes, asked the expert? Was he paying attention to what he was doing? One wonders, given the results of his botched attempt to turn the corner.

While it didn’t seem like a big deal to have him stuck on a stop sign pole, the damages left behind when the whole ordeal was over were significant, not to mention the inconvenience for the local traffic. This rig could just as easily have turned over after hitting the pole. Truck accidents like this one rarely happen in areas like Queens and Staten Island.

Published on: March 12, 2012

Crash with truck leaves one injured

by Stephen Bilkis

While driving along 82nd Street, close to Highway 27, police told a reporter that a man ran a red light and careened into a salt truck that was owned by the city of Lubbock. The man had to be cut from his vehicle and a helicopter had to come on the accident scene to get him and take him to the University Medical Center located close by.

The man’s injuries were life-threatening, after the accident, and he remains in critical condition. Officials from the emergency team reported that the man was not wearing a seat belt at the time of the accident. This may have been the reason of the extent of his injuries. No one was hurt in the city vehicle and investigations are still ongoing at this time.

The police explained that running a red light is a serious offense and can cost you your life. The police think that the speed at which the driver was going may have caused the crash. He was never in control of the vehicle at any time. The vehicle spun out of control and landed into the salt truck on the median. The driver remains in the hospital under medical supervision, and he is expected to recover.

Published on: March 2, 2012

Train and truck collision

by Stephen Bilkis

Police reported to an investigator that a National Railway Company train crashed with a tractor-trailer that two women were driving in. According to the police, no one was injured in the truck accident. The truck was taking auto the parts to Kentucky from Newbern. The police investigation revealed that the accident happened on Wednesday at approximately 6 15 p.m.

The tractor trailer was traveling on Parks Road. At one point, the tractor-trailer got caught on the tracks, while it was going downtown to Newbern. The driver of the truck was a woman and she was from Illinois. She was unable to drive the truck forward, and neither could she back the truck up from the train track. Both women were attempting to call for assistance when they saw that the train was coming, believes a witness who happened to be near the scene of the truck accident. They were unable to call 911, because the train came right down on them just as soon as they exited the vehicle. The story made news in Staten Island and Westlchester.

The train was going at such a rapid speed that he was not able to stop and so, it crashed through the tractor trailer until it came to a stop approximately 75 yards ahead. The impact of the accident split the tractor-trailer in half, and as a result, all of the auto parts were scattered around the surrounding area. The women were lucky not to have gotten hurt in this terrible accident. According to a reporter who was working the story for the local newspaper, the scene looked like something from a movie. “The Fugitive” came to mind and was mentioned in the story he wrote for the paper.

Published on: February 14, 2012

Cleveland 18 Wheeler Goes Off the Rails

by Stephen Bilkis

A routine haul for one Cleveland area big-rigger ended in tragedy on Tuesday, said a witness who was in contact with a representative from the Cuyahoga County Coroner’s Office.

The accident occurred after the 18 wheeler, which was heading down Interstate 480, jackknifed on the Valley View Bridge, sending the cab of the semi over the edge of the bridge, landing in a patch of trees. The driver of the truck was an unidentified middle-aged man who was native to the Cleveland area. Fortunately, no additional people were involved in the truck accident, and there was no damage to other cars on the bridge. The source explained after the accident that the driver was driving erratically, and may have been weaving from side to side.

Rescue units responded from at least four different counties to the scene of the accident. Forces from Brooklyn Heights, Independence, Cuyahoga Heights, and Garfield Heights were all present, but unfortunately nothing could be done for the driver of the truck, who was declared dead at the scene.

Published on: January 23, 2012

Semi backs up over man killing him

by Stephen Bilkis

This was a horrific truck accident that devastated the lives of many, said the report. The family of the dead man in this case filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the trucker that backed up over their dad in a parking lot.

The semi driver was attempting to move his rig to a different location in the parking lot and for some reason, failed to see the man walking behind him. Unfortunately, that man lost his life and even though responding EMS crews got there fast, reported the witness, he didn’t survive his injuries from the truck accident.

There are obviously some questions the police will need answered in this case, not the least of which is why was the deceased walking behind a big rig in one of the trucker’s blind spots? Why was he walking behind a moving rig in the first place? Did he fail to hear the backup warning signals, asked the questioner? Why was the driver backing up and not checking behind his truck? And why would the deceased, a trucker himself, walk into the path of a moving semi? In Brooklyn and Staten Island there would be an investigation.

Published on: January 12, 2012

Two vehicle wreck involves milk truck

by Stephen Bilkis

This was a case with a bit of a different twist. A Ford utility van rear-ended a milk truck. While there was some spilled milk, over all, both the Ford driver and the trucker were okay after the wreck. From the truck accident reports, the police indicated that the Ford driver wasn’t paying attention to what he was doing and because he was driving while distracted, he slammed into the back end of the milk truck, explained the source.

There was some on scene clean up and a warning issued by police to drive with care in the area and avoid the frozen spilled milk. It was also suggested that others traveling the same highway use due care and attention to the road conditions and slow down accordingly. There is some speculation that the driver of the Ford utility van may be issued a speeding citation, added the police, which wouldn’t be too surprising given the road conditions at the time and the Ford driver’s inattention.

Luckily, neither driver was hurt, but this story could have very easily turned out another way. Driving while distracted cannot only cause injuries, it may kill someone, added the expert. Those behind the wheel of a vehicle owe it to themselves and others on the road, to take care while driving. It’s only common courtesy to take care out there and pay attention to your own driving, the road conditions and what others are doing around you. Your life may depend on it.