A Virginia truck driver was killed in a two-vehicle collision on I-85 North outside of Auburn, Alabama on December 7, 2012. According to local police authorities, three other people were involved in the accident but were not seriously injured.
The truck accident took place at around 1:00pm on Friday, near the 55-mile marker of Interstate 85. VA truck driver 61-year-old Nathaniel Cain was traveling northbound when he failed to slow his big-rig down with the flow of traffic; an earlier accident on the road further up the interstate had caused a backup. Cain swerved his tractor-trailer in an attempt to avoid a collision, but rear-ended another tractor-trailer. His vehicle ran off the left side of the road, struck a guardrail, and came to rest on an embankment. The cab separated from the trailer, and Cain was pinned inside.
Emergency responders rushed to the scene, but it took over an hour to rescue Cain from inside the cab. He was pronounced dead by a Lee County Coroner. Two other occupants in the cab were uninjured, as was the driver of the other tractor-trailer involved in the crash.
The truck accident is still under investigation by authorities. It is not clear why Cain failed to slow and stop with the flow of traffic, or whether speeding or driver inattention could have been to blame.
The VA truck accident attorneys at Shapiro & Appleton send their condolences to the family, friends, and loved ones of the accident victim.