Trucker’s Comments About Falling Asleep At Wheel Admissible | Shapiro, Washburn & Sharp

Prosecutors are going to be allowed to use the comments of a truck driver in Allentown, PA, who fell asleep behind the wheel on I-78, which led to a crash that killed one.

The truck driver was never handcuffed or arrested or even forced to speak with the police when he admitted to falling asleep behind the wheel of his truck on Jan 13. The resulting crash killed the driver of another vehicle.

The truck driver originally told the police that he was in the left lane of a toll plaza when a vehicle cut in front of him. He also told police that he had to swerve to the right, which caused the crash.

However, the police then checked the surveillance footage of the toll plaza and found that the evidence did not match this story. The driver was confronted with the video tape, and he then admitted that he had fallen asleep. He added that he had rolled down the window and turned up his radio to stay awake.

The truck driver stated later that he nodded off as he was approaching the toll plaza, and when he woke, he had crashed into the barriers at the toll booth, which caused the accident.

The driver is facing charges of involuntary manslaughter, homicide by vehicle, and two counts of recklessly endangering another person.

As truck accident personal injury lawyers, we frequently see truck crashed caused by driver fatigue. It has been shown that 13% of truck accidents are due to nodding off behind the wheel. Truck driving crashes due to fatigue can also be caused by shippers who want their merchandise to arrive as soon as possible. They often push drivers to keep going even when they are exhausted.

 

Anyone who has been in an accident with a big rig should consult with a good personal injury attorney; there always is a good chance that driver fatigue may have caused the wreck.