Houston 18-Wheeler Wreck Kills 1: Rollover and Fire Involved
A terrible accident involving an 18-wheeler on Tuesday, April 8 took the life of the big rig’s driver and seriously injured a passenger, and also caused the closing of U.S. 290 near Barker-Cypress for more than 17 hours, so that Harris County officials could clean up and repair the road.
According to the Texas Department of Transportation and the Harris County Sheriff’s Office, the accident occurred at 12:30 a.m. Apparently, the driver lost control and was unable to stay in his lane, which caused him to hit a guardrail, which caused the truck to roll onto its side and burst into flames. The driver was unable to extricate himself from the fiery cab and was pronounced dead at the scene. A passenger who had been riding in the sleeping compartment was thrown from the truck, away from the fire. The passenger was later transported to Memorial Hermann Hospital. At this point, the condition and nature of the passenger’s injuries have not been released.
Police and fire officials had hoped to have the 250 gallons of spilled diesel fuel cleaned up, in order to reopen the road by noon, but it took until about 6 p.m. before they could do so, making for two rough commutes. In addition to the fuel cleanup, and reloading the charred truck’s cargo of apples onto other trucks, a few minor repairs had to be made to the freeway.
Commercial trucks of all types commonly cause some of the most devastating traffic accidents in Texas, and the numbers are growing. In 2012 alone, the state endured more than 26,000 accidents involving commercial vehicles, with 49 percent of them resulting in someone being injured or killed. Statistics for Harris County alone are sobering. In 2012, Harris County saw 3,886 crashes involving commercial vehicle crashes, which is almost 11 per day. Those crashes led to 25 fatalities and 1,704 total injuries, with 518 of those characterized as “serious or catastrophic.”
The highways in Harris County and the state of Texas, in general, can be dangerous, with all of the trucks populating the states. Trucks are large, they’re often defective or not properly maintained, and drivers have varying skill levels and are often under pressure to deliver their cargo within ever shorter periods of time. If you or a loved one have been injured or killed in an accident involving a large truck, please contact the Truck Accident Injury Lawyer at Hill Law Firm as soon as you can, in order to protect your rights under the law.