Texas Truck Hits Bridge, Debris Kills Child, Injures Her Mother
A terrible accident that happened at about 10 a.m. Thursday that took the life of a 12-year-old girl, later identified as Brein Bullock, was killed and her mother, 35-year-old Leah Bullock was seriously injured, when a Texas Disposal Services was traveling down Highway 36 with its boom raised and hit an Old Highway 90 overpass in Sealy, Texas. When that crash happened, the rubble from the overpass fell onto Highway 36, as well as onto the victim’s car.
At the time of the crash, Leah Bullock was driving north on the highway with her two children in their car. Brein was in the front passenger seat and her 9-year-old brother, Breanbon Gardner, was in the back seat. According to investigators, the front half of the vehicle was crushed by the rubble, but the little boy was able to escape the back seat. Brein Bullock was pronounced dead at the scene, while Leah Bullock was flown to Memorial Hermann Hospital in Katy, where she was in critical condition. Breanbon Gardner appeared healthy and was released to family members.
According to Sealy Police there is a warning system in place. They have suspended a wire across the road before the bridge with metal tubes that hang down and a sign that warns trucks that, if they hit that, they will hit the bridge. Witnesses report seeing the truck hit the cylinders and continue without stopping. Several people apparently took video of the entire incident. Because the boom was up on the truck, police are investigating the accident as a possible homicide. The truck driver, identified as 72-year-old Carl Weige, was transported to a local hospital, but his condition is unknown.
This is not the first time the bridge has been hit, but according to the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) the bridge was replaced after the last time, about 18 months ago. The bridge was last inspected in April 2015. While the bridge has been designated as functionally obsolete because it is too narrow for traffic, TxDOT notes that the bridge was not structurally deficient.
Texas Disposal Services, the company that owned the truck, has a fleet of more than 150 trucks and they reportedly also have a history of U.S. Department of Transportation violations, although none were considered acute or critical. The company’s trucks have also been involved in 15 accidents over the last two years. The most recent occurred in Austin in May and led to three people being injured. Police ticketed the driver in that case. Last July, a 39-year-old woman was killed last July when she was hit by a garbage truck owned by Texas Disposal Systems while she was walking along an Austin street.
An entire family has been devastated by this accident, and there are aspects of this that point to a number of responsible parties, including the state of Texas, local officials, and the trucking company. No one who suffers this much loss due to the possible negligence of others should have to go through this alone. They should receive compensation for all losses, including all medical expenses and wrongful death.
If you or a loved one have been injured or killed in an accident involving a large truck, please contact the Texas Truck Accident Lawyer at the Hill Law Firm as soon as possible, so that we can make sure evidence, such as the video of this accident that has not been released by the police, is preserved and to make sure your family’s rights are protected from trucking companies, insurance carriers or other potentially negligent parties.