Tractor-trailers constitute a traffic hazard to everyone, including young drivers, even in the best of circumstances. They much larger than ordinary passenger vehicles, they sit very high, and they need more time to stop than other vehicles.
But there is another danger when driving around large trucks, one that often has to do with the quality and regularity of truck maintenance, and that has to do with their wheels.
Two teenagers from North Texas were killed Friday and two others were injured, in what many are referring to as a “freak accident” as they drove along Interstate 40 just outside Weatherford, in western Oklahoma.
The accident occurred as the teens were driving eastbound` when a dual tire/wheel assembly broke away from a tractor-trailer rig going west. The dual assembly proceeded to skip over the median and crashed into the windshield of the teens’ Jeep, causing it to swerve and go off the road until it smashed into a cable barrier.
The two teens who were killed were later identified as students from Birdville High School in North Richland, Texas; Abigail Key, 15, and Chance Clifton, 17. The driver, Colby Wade, 18, was listed in critical condition and was being treated for head injuries at the University of Oklahoma Medical Center in Oklahoma City. A fourth teenager, Caleb Wade, 17, was taken to nearby Weatherford Regional Hospital, where he was treated and released. The driver of the truck was unhurt.
While a thorough investigation will have to be conducted to find the exact cause of this accident, it’s possible that either the truck or the wheel was defective. It’s also possible that either the driver or the trucking company that owned the truck failed to properly inspect or maintain it properly.
If you have been injured or lost a loved one due to an accident involving a large truck, and you suspect negligence on the part of the driver or the trucking company, contact the experienced Texas Trucking Accident Lawyer at Hill Law Firm now, to protect your rights.