A crash on I-95 involving a box truck, an SUV and a tractor-trailer left the SUV driver dead and his wife seriously injured. The fatal wreck happened in Spotsylvania County, Virginia (VA), at around 12:35 am on August 11, 2017.
The incident began as a rear-end collision between the exits to Thornburg and Masaponax. According to news reports, a tractor-trailer had stopped as traffic backed up at the entrance to a work zone. The SUV driver slowed down, but the box truck operator did not.
When the box truck hit the SUV from behind, the smaller vehicle became sandwiched between the two commercial trucks. The SUV driver died at the scene, and his wife went to the hospital. Authorities identified the deceased victim as 58-year-old Vincent J. McNeece.
State police charged the person operating the box truck with reckless driving, driving without a license and having no insurance. Under the laws of Virginia, an individual is considered to have been operating recklessly when, “irrespective of the maximum speeds permitted by law” the driver acted in a way that “endanger[ed] the life, limb, or property of any person.”
The recklessness involved in this fatal rear-end collision and chain-reaction crash on I95 through Spotsylvania County included not reducing speed when approaching a work zone and stopped traffic. A Work Zone Safety Teachers Guide published by the state’s DMV and Department of Transportation emphasizes the needs for drivers to
- Be alert — to the conditions and activities around you, your vehicle’s speed, the location of your vehicle and that of other vehicles around you.
- Be prepared to react quickly.
- Do not tailgate — allow ample space between your vehicle and the one in front of you.
- Be patient — the time spent in a work zone (even if stopped by flagging operations) is relatively short. The inconvenience may translate into a few moments of delay but you reach your destination safely.
- Pay attention to the signs and follow directions. Don’t wait until the last minute to merge into another lane or reduce your speed.
The at-fault box truck driver’s lack of insurance surely raises concerns for the injured woman and unexpected widow. Working with an experienced and caring Virginia wrongful death attorney and personal injury lawyer who understands uninsured motorist coverage will help her pursue all her options for holding the reckless driver financially accountable for the pain and loss he inflicted.
EJL