Six members of a group from Newport News’ Fox Hill Road Baptist Church wound up hospitalized after being involved in a crash with two commercial trucks near Lynchburg, Virginia (VA), on July 11, 2016. The driver of the church van and five children suffered injuries when their van was rear-ended by a flatbed truck on U.S. 460 and pushed across the center line of the highway and into the path of an oncoming tractor-trailer.
State police said they will file charges against the flatbed driver. The two most serious injuries to the children were a concussion and a broken leg. The person driving the van remained in the hospital through the following day with undisclosed injuries that are not believed to be life-threatening.
The rear-end collision happened as the van and flatbed approached the turnoff to Pleasant Valley Road. It is possible that the truck driver was speeding and could not slow down when vehicles ahead of him braked for a turning car. The commercial truck driver might also have allowed himself to become distracted by a cell phone, GPS device or bit of paperwork, Any activity that might have taken his eyes and mind off the flow of traffic placed everyone at risk.
The parents of the children injured in this crash with two trucks could benefit from speaking with an experienced Newport News traffic accident injury attorney. Sorting out insurance issues following a wreck like this is always difficult because separate policies usually cover the commercial drivers and the big rigs. Also, even though the church van driver did not cause the accident, some coverage from the organization may be available to victims who were traveling for a church-related event. Figuring out how those multiple coverages apply is essential to receiving adequate settlements for medical expenses and other crash-related costs.
EJL