Semi-truck drivers are typically provided with proper safety training, which is especially important due to the massive size of the vehicles they operate on the nation’s roadways. They know that there are blind spots on both sides of the vehicle that could hide an approaching vehicle from view. A disaster recently occurred on an Indiana bridge involving two massive trucks and one driver who reportedly did not see the other.
The incident occurred on I-70 near Wilbur Wright Road. Shortly before 7 a.m. on a Friday two tractor-trailer drivers were on the same bridge. Investigators say that one of the drivers attempted a merger into the other lane. The driver later said that he had not noticed there was already a truck there.
The other truck driver reportedly tried to avert a collision
The truck driver in the other lane apparently realized the other tractor-trailer was moving into his lane, and he tried to swerve to avoid a crash. The maneuver caused his vehicle to travel through a median. It then tumbled over the bridge and down an embankment.
Rescuers worked for two hours to extricate the driver
The driver was trapped inside his vehicle for nearly two hours while rescuers worked to extricate him from the semi. He was then airlifted to a hospital. If a commercial truck driver has suffered injuries in a collision because of another driver’s negligence, he or she may have grounds for filing a third-party claim in a civil court to pursue recovery of documented monetary damages.