Trucking Accident Attorney Blog

A truck driver who fell asleep behind the wheel of his semi and killed seven children has been sentenced to seven years in prison -- one year for each child, The Florida Times-Union reports in an article written by Paul Pinkham.

In January 2006, Alvin Wilkerson was 25 miles into an 85-mile trip hauling bottled water for Crete Carrier Corp. when he slammed into the back of a van that was stopped behind a school bus. He had been awake for nearly 34 hours and fell asleep while driving.

In the van were the 15-year-old driver, Nikki Mann, her siblings, Elizabeth Mann, 15, Johnny Mann, 13, and Heaven Mann, 3; two cousins, Ashley Keen, 14, and Miranda Finn, 10; and the Manns’ foster brother, Anthony Lamb, 20 months.

Both the van and tractor-trailer rammed into the school bus. The van burst into flames and killed everyone inside. Ten children on the school bus were also hurt, some severely.

Wilkerson was charged with seven counts of vehicular homicide and 10 counts of misdemeanor culpable negligence.

State Attorney William Cervone of Gainsville said that the conviction may be the first case in Florida where someone went to prison for falling asleep behind the wheel.

Cervone also indicated that the prison sentence doesn’t end the pursuit of justice in the case. Wilkerson has already discussed his sleep deprivation with prosecutors.

Assistant State Attorney Geoffrey Fleck added:

“We’re hoping that this will send a message to the trucking companies that if they drive sleep-deprived drivers, they could be not only civilly but criminally liable.”

That message is vital. Companies that pressure truckers to break the hours-of-service rules put the lives of innocent men, women and children at risk. Those companies should have to face criminal charges.

If you have been hurt or a loved one has been hurt or died as a result of a truck driver's carelessness, contact The Lowe Law Firm Missouri/Illinois trucking-accident lawyers online or by calling 877-678-3400.

Thirty-nine dangerous trucks were taken off the road last week after the Nebraska State Patrol conducted surprise inspections in Grand Island.

Troopers pulled over commercial trucks at six sites on June 11. The aim was to inspect in-town trucks that rarely, if ever, go through weigh stations. Trucks were inspected to ensure they complied with weight and size restrictions, that equipment was in good working order and that valid permits had been secured.

Of the 87 trucks inspected, the highway patrol uncovered 291 violations. Thirty-nine trucks were taken out of service and will not be allowed to return until the problems are fixed. Troopers also issued over $10,000 in fines.

These inspections play an extremely important role in the effort to make sure the roads are safe for motorists, motorcyclists and pedestrians. Mechanical problems and shifting loads are to blame for causing ten percent of all deadly crashes involving trucks.

If you have been hurt or a loved one has been hurt or died as a result of a truck driver's carelessness, contact The Lowe Law Firm Missouri/Illinois trucking-accident lawyers online or by calling 877-678-3400.

Visit our Truck-Accident Information Center.

A trucker who crashed her semi and spilled aluminum onto an interstate in Nashville was arrested on suspicion of drunk driving.

The accident occurred June 10 on eastbound Interstate 40. According to WSMV (Ch. 4), Nashville, the truck driver didn’t notice a curve in the highway. She lost control, drove through the grass and onto the Interstate 440 on-ramp then hit the retainer wall and flipped the big rig on its side.

After smelling alcohol, police tested the truck driver and discovered she was above the limit established for both commercial drivers and regular motorists.

John Pepper of the Metro Police Department said:

“The state of Tennessee requires that a truck driver, number one, shouldn’t be drinking at all when their behind the wheel. But their limit for alcohol is much lower than the average driver that would be operating a standard motor vehicle. In this case, the tractor-trailer driver was significantly above even that level.”

Fortunately, no one was hurt.

According to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s Large Truck Crash Causation Study, alcohol played a role in one percent of all truck crashes involved in fatal accidents. Illegal drug use played a role in two percent of all truck crashes involved in fatal accidents.

Drinking and driving is a poor choice for any driver. However, when a trucker drives under the influence, the stakes are even higher. The average car weighs only 3,500 pounds while a fully-loaded tractor-trailer can weigh as much as 80,000 pounds.

If you have been hurt or a loved one has been hurt or died as a result of a truck driver's carelessness, contact The Lowe Law Firm Missouri/Illinois trucking-accident lawyers online or by calling 877-678-3400.

Visit our Truck-Accident Information Center.

On Tuesday, a Greyhound bus carrying 42 people flipped onto its side and injured more than two dozen people, the Daily Herald reports.

Darren P. Duke, 46, was driving the bus as the time of the accident. Police suspect the driver fell asleep.

According to the news article, the bus drifted onto the gravel, fishtailed, then overcorrected. It then hit the center wall. The bus eventually ended up on its right side with its wheels against the concrete barriers in the highway’s median. The passengers' injuries did not appear to be life-threatening.

According to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, more than 11,000 buses were involved in crashes during 2006. Of that number, 299 of the collisions were fatal and more than 6,000 resulted in injuries.

Because trains and buses are common carriers, the companies and their drivers and conductors owe a high degree of responsibility for transporting each passenger in a safe manner. A transit company that fails to fulfill this responsibility may be required to compensate victims for their injuries.

If you have been injured or a loved one has been injured or killed in an accident involving a common carrier, please contact our attorneys for legal assistance as soon as possible. We will investigate to determine whether the bus, train, driver or conductor was responsible for causing the accident.

The lawyers of The Lowe Law Firm are experienced in helping victims of bus and train accidents. We will seek compensation for past and future medical expenses, past and future wages, pain and suffering, disability and other damages. We also represent family members in wrongful death cases.

We offer a free initial consultation for victims of bus and train accidents. If you cannot make it to our office, we will come to you at the hospital or your home.

Contact the lawyers at The Lowe Law Firm today by calling 877-678-3400.

An East St. Louis, Ill. highway worker was killed Monday morning when a semi plowed through a construction site, Fox 2-St. Louis reports.

The 39-year-old worker, Cedric Gasper, was sitting on the rear bumper of a white pickup truck when a semi barreled through several orange, construction zone barrels set up on Highway 15 and Green Mountain Road in Belleville. The semi hit the truck Gasper was riding in, sending him flying through the air. He was airlifted to St. Louis University Hospital where he later died.

The Illinois State Police and the Belleville Police are investigating the cause of the accident.

According to the Illinois Department of Transportation, there are over 7,000 work zone motor vehicle crashes a year in Illinois resulting in 2,600 injuries and 33 deaths. On average, two highway workers are killed.

If you have been hurt or a loved one has been hurt or died as a result of a truck driver's carelessness, contact The Lowe Law Firm Missouri/Illinois trucking-accident lawyers online or by calling 877-678-3400.

Visit our Truck-Accident Information Center.

A trucker from Illinois died last week in a three-truck pileup on Indiana 49. The accident occurred on the morning of May 27. Mark Flock was behind the wheel of an empty tractor-trailer when he slammed into the back of semi hauling three steel coils. The force of the crash sent the semi with the steel coils over a concrete median and into a box truck, shearing the cabin of the box truck away from the trailer. In the process, the three steel coils were knocked off the flatbed trailer and onto the highway.

Flock was pronounced dead at the scene. The other truck drivers were not seriously hurt.

According to the Chesterton Tribune, Flock’s truck left numerous skid marks which would indicate his brakes locked before the crash.

An autopsy did not reveal any signs of a sudden illness or trauma before the crash. The results of toxicology tests have not yet been released and investigators are still trying to determine the cause of the accident.

Miraculously, there were no motorists injured in the chain-reaction collision involving big rigs and heavy loads.

If you have been hurt or a loved one has been hurt or died as a result of a truck driver's carelessness, contact The Lowe Law Firm Missouri/Illinois trucking-accident lawyers online or by calling 877-678-3400.

Visit our Truck-Accident Information Center.

A truck driver who drifted across the center line and collided head on with a car was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter by a jury, the Rolla Daily News reports.

On March 22, 2002 Patrick Wayne Zullig of Rolla, Mo. was driving his truck west on Missouri Route 72. He crossed the center line and crashed into an oncoming car driven by Shannon Mocabee, a pregnant mother. Mocabee and her unborn fetus were killed in the collision. Another child, who was strapped in a car seat, was hurt but survived.

Last Friday, a Phelps County jury convicted Zullig of involuntary manslaughter in the first degree, a Class B felony punishable by up to 15 years in prison and a $10,000 fine. Zullig will be sentenced in August.

If you have been hurt or a loved one has been hurt or died as a result of a truck driver's carelessness, contact The Lowe Law Firm Missouri/Illinois trucking-accident lawyers online or by calling 877-678-3400.

Visit our Truck-Accident Information Center.

When a dump truck crashed into a school bus earlier this month, 16-year-old Daniel Wood died. Ten students and the bus driver were also injured in the collision that occurred near Falmouth, Ky.

Now it appears that XXL Trucking, the company that owned the dump truck, violated eight federal and state safety regulations. Of those eight violations uncovered by the Kentucky Vehicle Enforcement, three of them were critical, the Kentucky Enquirer reports.

The critical violations included the failure on the part of the company’s four drivers to keep time sheets or duty status records, failure to have the company’s four trucks periodically inspected, and missing driver vehicle inspection reports.

In addition, Francis Yulfo, the dump truck driver involved in the accident, was ticketed on Feb. 1 for violating the federal safety rule that bars truckers from driving more than 11 hours in a row or more than 14 hours in a shift. Yulfo was working for an Indiana trucking company at the time.

Although criminal charges have not yet been filed, the family of the teen killed in the accident has filed suit against the drive and XXL Trucking alleging negligence.

If you have been hurt or a loved one has been hurt or died as a result of a truck driver's carelessness, contact The Lowe Law Firm Missouri/Illinois trucking-accident lawyers online or by calling 877-678-3400.

Visit our Truck-Accident Information Center.

Big rigs barreling down St. Louis area highways pose dangers to motorists who share the road with them.

According to a recent investigative report on KMOV-4 St. Louis, inattention, bad brakes, poor maintenance and long driving hours are just a few of the many violations law enforcement officers uncovered in the metropolitan St. Louis area.

Last year, the top violations in Missouri included bad lighting, defective brakes, bad tires and truckers who drove too many hours.

Out of 1,300 recent inspections in Southern Illinois, 24 percent of the trucks stopped were parked because they were too unsafe to continue on their journey.

One day a week on Interstate 44, at least half of the trucks are too risky for the road, the St. Louis Police Department reports. That’s because produce haulers hurrying to get from the West Coast to the East Coast by Monday morning are dangerously cutting corners. One officer told KMOV reporter Russell Kinsaul about a trucker attempting to get his load across the country who was pulled over in the metro area after driving for 36 hours.

Kinsaul indicated that truckers who don’t speak any English are also emerging as a safety issue. “If they can’t speak English, they probably can’t read English, either,” Kinsaul said.

That can be a problem, especially this summer in St. Louis, because portable roadside signs are often used to alert motorists about upcoming road construction, slow downs and highway or lane closings.

Motorists who see a trucker driving dangerously are urged to report the problem by calling the Missouri Highway Patrol at *55 or by dialing 9-1-1 to reach the St. Louis Police Department or Illinois State Police.

The news segment also urged motorists not to linger in traffic lanes next to a semi and not to crowd the big rigs.

If you have been hurt or a loved one has been hurt or died as a result of a truck driver's carelessness, contact The Lowe Law Firm Missouri/Illinois trucking-accident lawyers online or by calling 877-678-3400.

Visit our Truck-Accident Information Center.

A truck driver was killed around midnight last night when his semi overturned, rolled down an embankment and caught fire, the Kansas City Star reports.

The tractor trailer was headed southbound on Interstate 435 in Kansas City. After rolling down the embankment, the semi stopped near Raytown Road which remained closed to rush hour traffic this morning so that crews could inspect a nearby bridge for structural damage.

The driver has not yet been identified and police are currently investigating the cause of the accident.

While it is not yet known what led to last night’s deadly accident, according to the federal government's Large Truck Crash Causation Study, when a truck driver was at fault for causing a fatal crash, falling asleep at the wheel or suffering a heart attack caused 12 percent of the crashes. Inattention, distraction, and failure to keep a careful lookout were to blame for 29 percent of the crashes. Poor decision-making, such as driving too fast for the conditions, following too closely, performing an illegal driving maneuver or aggressive driving accounted for 38 percent of the accidents.

If you have been hurt or a loved one has been hurt or died as a result of a truck driver's carelessness, contact The Lowe Law Firm Missouri/Illinois trucking-accident lawyers online or by calling 877-678-3400.

Visit our Truck-Accident Information Center.

State Police are searching for a hit-and-run trucker who sideswiped a trooper on May 13, the Roanoke Times reports.

Trooper Jeff Rasnick had pulled over a tractor-trailer for speeding. He was sitting in his unmarked car that was parked on the shoulder of Interstate 81 when another semi ran off the right side of the road, slammed into his door and kept on driving.

Rasnick suffered shoulder and back injuries and was taken to the hospital. According to Virginia law, drivers must slow down or change lanes for emergency vehicles stopped on the side of the road.

Police are looking for a dark-colored Freightliner Class tractor with an extended front. The right rear of the white or gray box trailer suffered significant damage.

If you have been hurt or a loved one has been hurt or died as a result of a truck driver's carelessness, contact The Lowe Law Firm Missouri/Illinois trucking-accident lawyers online or by calling 877-678-3400.

Visit our Truck-Accident Information Center.

In early May, a Missouri man who struck and killed a Branson County public works employee after he lost control of his car was sentenced to four years in prison, the Branson Daily News reports.

According to the article written by reporter Mindy Honey, on Aug. 3, 2004, Richard S. Toeneboehn, 21, was speeding and weaving in and out of traffic on Gretna Road in Branson, Mo. Several witnesses reported that Toeneboehn appeared to be racing another car.

Toeneboehn lost control of his car, hit the curb, spun out and hit James Turner, who was weed eating on the side of the road.

Toeneboehn was charged with the class D felony of involuntary manslaughter. He pleaded guilty and Taney County Circuit Judge Mark Orr imposed the sentence as part of a 120-day shock incarceration program.

Unfortunately, the death of the public works employee is not an isolated one. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, almost 5,000 pedestrians are killed every year by motorists and more than 70,000 are injured. That means that every eight minutes a pedestrian is hurt in the United States and every 111 minutes a pedestrian is killed.

If you or a loved one has been hurt or killed in a pedestrian accident as a result of the negligence of another, please contact our attorneys for legal assistance as soon as possible at 877-678-3400.

The lawyers of The Lowe Law Firm are experienced in helping people who have been hurt as a result of the negligence of another. We will seek compensation for past and future medical expenses, past and future wages, pain and suffering, disability and other damages. We also represent family members in wrongful death cases.