A Kentucky resident got seriously hurt while traveling in a neighboring state after an 18-year-old driving a large semi rear-ended her. This happened on a federal highway that authorities had to shut down for over an hour to investigate the crash and clean up the scene.
The injured victim was initially taken to a local rural Ohio hospital by ambulance. Eventually, she had to be flown via helicopter to a larger facility.
According to police, the driver who got hurt, a 67-year-old woman, had to slow down for a car in front of her vehicle. The driver of the truck apparently did not see her reduce her speed and slammed in to the back of her car. This pushed the woman’s car in to the car in front of her. The driver of the car in front was attempting to turn left off of the highway and on to another road. Police have already issued a ticket to the truck driver.
As of the last reports, the woman’s medical condition was described as “fair.” Other details of her injuries were not described.
This case illustrates two important points regarding truck accidents. The first is that truck drivers need to pay attention to the road at all times and be prepared to come to a stop, particularly on roads where other cars are prone to having to stop to make a turn off of the road. Even if they aren’t distracted by anything in particular, it is easy for a driver’s mind to wander. If a truck driver does not fight their tendency to not pay attention to the road, however, a serious accident can be the end result.
The second point is that trucking companies need to be careful to hire only drivers who have adequate experience operating large trucks. While the driver in this case may well have had some experience with operating semis, it’s hard to imagine this experience was too extensive given the driver in all likelihood only had permission to drive at all for a few short years.
