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Published on: June 10, 2011

9-Vehicle Pileup Due to Low-Visibility

by Stephen Bilkis

A 9-vehicle pileup in Montana has left 16 people injured and some of the law enforcement officers who were on the scene saying that was the worst series of accidents they have ever seen in at least 10-years, a New York Truck Accident Lawyer has learned.

Montana has been receiving near-record snowfall as of late. This has created snowdrifts at various points along the highways. Winds in Montana can be especially brutal, and this day they were blowing particularly hard, according to eyewitnesses that spoke with a Truck Accident Lawyer. This blowing wind decreased visibility to near nothing, and contributed greatly to the accident. The first trooper that arrived on the scene within about one minute after the van hit the snowdrift and stopped in the middle of the road.

To start all of this chain of events off, a van struck a snowdrift on Highway 2 in Roosevelt County, Montana. This, in turn, led to another vehicle striking it, and another, vehicle striking it, and on and on. This chain of events continued until a tractor-trailer drove into the last of the vehicles, and according to the deputy on the scene who told the New York Truck Accident Lawyer “the semi was like a bowling ball going through bowling pins.”

Published on: June 9, 2011

Malfunctioned Brakes cause accident on I-70

by Stephen Bilkis

Failing brakes cause a truck accident that injured at least three people and closed traffic lanes for most of the day Sunday, a New York Truck Accident Lawyer explained. The scene was all too common on I-70 Sunday. The road was closed most of the day because of an accident involving an 18 –wheel truck and an unsuspecting SUV, stated an Accident Lawyer.

The truck appeared to have been driving out of control according to local authorities when its brakes failed and slammed into a Chevrolet Trailblazer causing it to roll over on its side.

Passengers in the SUV were all injured to some degree. One of the passengers had to be cut out of the truck and had serious injuries. The other two passengers were left with only minor injuries but were sent to the hospital for observation according to police.

Published on: June 8, 2011

Road Rage Causes Accident

by Stephen Bilkis

Initial reports indicate that road rage may have been to blame for an accident on Alternate Route 7 in Colonie on Wednesday, according to early reports from a New York City Truck Accident Law Firm.

Police say two cars engaged in a traffic dispute were driving eastbound past a tractor

trailer driven by a woman, 57.

Published on: June 7, 2011

Jury Awards $13 Million for Truck Negligence

by Stephen Bilkis

A Florida jury has awarded $13 million to a mother and her daughter, a New York Truck Accident Lawyer has learned. The award is the result of a traffic accident that occurred in 2005 when the vehicle the woman’s daughter was a passenger in collided with a log truck. The log truck was attempting to make an illegal U-turn and had almost stopped as it stretched across the four-lane highway. It was at this time that the car that was driven by her then-boyfriend collided with the truck. Both then-17-year olds were injured, but the female received the worst injuries. As a result of this accident, she must live with permanent brain injuries, short-term memory loss, and physical impairments.

The jury found both the truck driver and the owner of the truck negligent. They determined this negligence was not only for the truck driver making an illegal U-turn, but also for many of the lights on the truck being inoperative, which made it much more difficult to see on the dark road. They also assessed some blame to the female for failure to wear a seatbelt, a NY Truck Accident Firm was told. The jury further added that the Florida Department of Transportation bore some responsibility for failing to place proper signage along the highway prohibiting U-turns. The young woman’s former boyfriend was also assigned some responsibility for his reaction to the situation but was not found negligent. A similar case in Staten Island or Long Island, NY would have a lawyer knowledgeable in this area on hand.

Sources further enlightened the Attorney that the same driver had been cited for running a red light two days prior to the accident.

Published on: June 6, 2011

Truck Accident Knocks Out Hydro Pole

by Stephen Bilkis

The intersection of Derry Rd. W. and Creditview Rd. will be shut down for several hours, says a New York City Truck Accident Law Firm, after a transport truck struck a cement hydro pole this morning causing live wires to dangle dangerously over the road. It is unclear how long the wires had been there, and if this was a dangerous situation to begin with.

The accident was reported around 11:30 am. Emergency crews arriving on the scene stated that the pole was falling over the road, with live wires sparking.

Peel Regional Police quickly shut down the intersection and the roads in the immediate area, says the NYC Truck Accident Law Firm. Work crews were dispatched to the scene to clean up fuel that flooded the eastbound lanes of Derry Rd. It is not known at this time how long that job will take. Crews couldn’t give an estimate until they got a good look at the damage to the area how long it would take to fix.

Published on: June 5, 2011

Man in Hospital After Logging Truck Accident

by Stephen Bilkis

According to local police, a truck driver is at fault for an accident that involved two cars and a tractor trailer. One of the men landed in the hospital, according to a NY Truck Accident Lawyer. It all went down somewhere around noon on Wednesday, at the cross streets of Brushy Fork Road on Rt. 33 in Buckhannon, says the NY Truck Accident Lawyer.

According to the police reports available, one man was driving east on Rt. 33 in a tractor trailer, when he supposedly ran a red light and hit a car that was crossing the intersection. The severity of the damage is unavailable at this time, claims the NYC Truck Accident Lawyer.

The driver allegedly lost control, and jumped the median into the west bound lane hitting an SUV. He was ticketed for failure to obey a traffic control device.

Published on: June 4, 2011

Truck Crash Closed Florida Turnpike

by Stephen Bilkis

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.

Published on: June 3, 2011

Wrong Way Drunk Driver in Fort Worth Hits Truck Head-On Leaving One Dead

by Stephen Bilkis

Interstate 30 was the scene of a horrific accident involving a drunk driver and a tanker trucker that had just been filled with fuel. The March 28 accident began when a man reportedly drank at least 10 beers at a local Fort Worth bar. Police say that they are not sure, when the drunk driver entered I-30, but they do know that the first reports of a wrong-way driver began to be reported to the 911 operators at approximately 2:30 a.m. It was not long after these 911 calls began to be made that the drunk driver crashed head-on into the tanker truck. The tanker then overturned and exploded into a massive fireball. The truck driver died almost instantly.

When first responders arrived at the scene, the truck was completely engulfed in flames. The fireball that had shot high into the night sky could be seen for miles, witnesses told a NYC Truck Accident Attorney. Due to the amount of fuel involved, firefighters allowed most of it to burn before they extinguished the flames. The heat was so intense that it melted parts of the concrete and steel structure of the bridge. A Texas Department of Transportation (TXDOT) spokeswoman stated that the heat was so intense that it literally melted the concrete. She went on to add, “The fuel went down the bridge joints, and the fire followed it.” Repairs to the bridge are expected to take months to complete. Traffic will be affected for months, as the section of the bridge undergoing repair will be bottlenecked from four lanes into two until repairs are complete.

The 23-year old man who police arrested at the scene sits in the Mansfield Jail, police told a New York Truck Accident Attorney. If this type of accident occurred in The Bronx or Westchester County, NY, a qualified attorney would be contacted. He has been charged with suspicion of drunken driving and intoxication manslaughter, and his bail has been set at $90,000. Police sources have also said that they are awaiting the results of his blood alcohol test to be returned. The police spokesman also stated that the man they have in custody simply remembers that he had drunk 10 beers at a local bar, and did not remember driving onto the interstate highway. They also said that the man said that he was very sorry for his actions.

Published on: June 2, 2011

Three Men Killed in Truck Collision in Florida

by Stephen Bilkis

Police have positively identified one of the three men who were killed in a March 30 collision with a tractor-trailer. The deceased was confirmed as a 32-year old male from Mexico, who was riding in the right front passenger seat in the van that crashed into the tractor-trailer on March 30 near Mayo, FL.

After studying the police report, a NY Truck Accident Attorney has learned that the three men were traveling northbound on State Route 349 in a 2002 Dodge Caravan. As the van approached the intersection of SR 349 and U.S. 27, they were supposed to stop at a stop sign, which they did not. The van proceeded into the intersection that was about to be occupied by a 1998 Freightliner semi-tractor pulling a trailer. The westbound tractor-trailer slammed into the right front fender of the Caravan, which spun the van around in a counter-clockwise motion, and following a brief course in a westerly direction, the van came to rest on the shoulder facing south.

Following the collision, the tractor-trailer, which had been traveling west, essentially jackknifed and wound up facing westbound on the eastbound shoulder with the trailer still in the road.

Published on: May 3, 2011

Woman Dies in Car Crash

by Stephen Bilkis

A 19-year old woman has died in a car crash last Thursday. The woman struck the rear of a Volkswagen tractor-trailer as it had stopped in preparation to make a left turn into a private drive off U.S.190 at approximately 5:30pm. The Louisiana State Police trooper at the scene commented that apparently the woman did not notice that the truck had stopped in order to make a turn and then smacked into the rear of the trailer. The trooper went on to add that her Mitsubishi Galant came to rest beneath the trailer. The St. Landry Parish Coroner pronounced the woman dead at the scene. The driver of the truck was not injured in the crash.

As part of a routine investigation, toxicology samples were taken from both the truck driver and from the deceased 19-year old woman and sent out for analysis. The investigation is continuing and may take a few weeks to get the toxicology reports back from the Louisiana State Police Crime Lab. This would be the procedure in Manhattan, NYC. A Lawyer will also file to obtain a copy of the accident report when it becomes available so as to discover the rest of the particulars of this accident, especially as to whether the lights on the rear of the trailer were operative and whether there was a turn signal activated prior to the truck accident.

Firefighters on the scene told a reporter that they had a difficult time in untangling the two vehicles, as they had to pull the mangled wreckage of the car out from beneath the rear of the trailer. Although most first responders must maintain a certain emotional distance from those involved at accident scenes in order to do their jobs, in reality most have children themselves and are never prepared when bad things happen to those who are the same age as their own children. Theirs is an often thankless and unrecognized job that is at times filled with sadness and heartache.