Driving in highway work zones requires all people to slow down and exercise extra caution to avoid collisions with road crew members, Jersey walls, construction equipment and other vehicles. On May 8, 2012, a woman behind the wheel of an SUV on Route 35 near Pliny West Virginia (VA), failed to meet those essential duties and allowed her vehicle to cross the center line and drift into the path of oncoming traffic.
That lapse of attention or loss of control led to a head-on crash with a motorcycle that left the bike rider dead. A tractor-trailer driver following the SUV also wrecked while swerving to avoid a secondary crash, and the woman driving the SUV suffered life-threatening injuries in the collision and ensuing fire. The trucker was not hurt.
This fatal accident raises many alarms for us as personal injury and wrongful death attorneys who have helped hundreds of motorcycle, car and truck crashes. The wreck was caused by a person who failed to stay in her lane; it happened along a stretch of highway where construction was being done; a motorcyclist suffered a far worse fate than the person in the larger vehicle who was at fault. Each situation is far too common, and seeing all played out in the same accident is tragic.
Our condolences go out to family of the deceased woman, who was identified as a resident of Salem, Virginia (VA).
EJL