Accidents that involve cars and tractor trailers commonly have catastrophic injuries or fatalities as the result. The sheer size of the trucks is enough to cause devastating injuries to motorists in truck accidents. For this reason, motorists should be extra vigilant when they travel in the vicinity of large trucks.

A young Missouri man who was a passenger in a car recently lost his life when the driver allegedly failed to see a tractor trailer slowing down before making a right turn. A member of the Columbia Police Department who was at the accident scene says it appears as if the driver smashed into the rear of the truck without applying the brakes. The passenger was declared dead at the accident scene, and the driver was transported to a hospital where toxicology tests were done after she submitted blood samples. The driver has since been discharged from the hospital, and the toxicology test results are pending.

The driver and passenger in the tractor trailer were uninjured, and a Breathalyzer test that was conducted at the accident scene apparently indicated that the truck driver was not impaired. Police reported that they were investigating the possibility that the car driver’s distraction may have caused the accident. It was also reported that only the driver and passenger in the truck wore safety belts while the two occupants of the car were not restrained.

Missouri residents who have lost loved ones in truck accidents that resulted from another person’s negligence may pursue compensation for expenses and losses brought about by the accidents. This is true even if the deceased person was a passenger in the car of the negligent driver. A wrongful death claim that is substantiated by sufficient evidence of negligence and documented proof of expenses and losses sustained may lead to an award of monetary compensation for end-of-life expenses and other financial losses.

Source: connectmidmissouri.com, “Names released in fatal Columbia accident”, Dan Ebner, March 21, 2015