Circumstances sometimes arise in which parts come off of a large truck as it is travelling along a road. Such hurtling projectiles can cause vast amounts of harm if they make contact with another vehicle. This can be seen in a recent motor vehicle accident from here in West Virginia.
Last Thursday, a tanker truck was going south along Interstate 79. According to authorities, one of the truck’s tires then came off. The tire went over a guard rail and across an embankment onto the freeway’s northbound side. It then crashed through the windshield of a northbound car.
The tanker truck kept on going. Authorities are not sure if the truck’s driver was aware that an accident had been caused by one of the truck’s tires. As of Monday, police had not yet found the truck’s driver.
The struck car was being driven by a Canadian man. His wife was a passenger. The couple had been on vacation in Florida and were driving through West Virginia as part of their return trip to Canada.
The Canadian man suffered severe head injuries in the accident. He was hospitalized after the crash. As of Monday, he was still in the hospital.
Among the things it can be important to look at in detached-truck-part accidents like this one are:
- Whether the driver of the truck committed any improper conduct that caused the part to detach.
- Whether the company the truck belonged to properly monitored the truck’s condition.
- Whether the driver of the truck or the company the truck belonged to were aware any of problems with the part prior to it detaching.
- Whether the part that detached was defective in any way.
What is discovered in investigations into these issues can indicate how a detached-part accident occurred and who can be held liable for the harms caused by it.
Source: TheRecord.com, “Belwood man injured by flying tire in West Virginia remains in hospital,” Valerie Hill, March 3, 2014
