Somehow, life-threatening injuries were avoided in a chain-reaction crash on NC 42 in Johnston County, North Carolina, on July 29, 2012. One of the drivers of the cars involved in the wreck near Wood Haven Lane did require hospital treatment for a minor injury, but the people in the other car, van and pickup truck walked away unharmed.
According to a report from WTVD ABC-11 in Raleigh, spilled bricks from an overloaded trailer being towed by the pickup truck created the conditions that lead to the accident. Loose construction materials struck a car carrying a mother and her two-and-a-half year-old daughter. Then a van approaching the scene swerved and hit the second car head-on. Police issued a traffic citation to the truck driver for transporting an improperly secured load.
As I’m writing this, pictures of a hatchet that pierced a car’s windshield after flying from the bed of a pickup on the interstate in Massachusetts are all over social media. As with this North Carolina accident, no one died or suffered life-changing injuries. Regardless of these two incredibly fortunate outcomes, the risks from loose loads cannot be ignored or downplayed.
The dangers posed by unsecured loads has been a particular focus for the lawyers with our North Carolina personal injury law firm for many years. Debris, and detached trailers themselves, put people’s lives and physical health at risk every minute of every day on America’s roads and highways. State and federal law enforcement officials have taken these risks much more seriously in recent years, but too many operators of commercial trucks and recreational vehicles have failed to get the message.
EJL