By Richard Shapiro, Virginia Trucking Injury Lawyer

A major tractor trailer crash on I-85 in South Carolina at the North Carolina line killed one person and shut down the entire interstate for several hours on Aug. 2.

The truck driver apparently lost control, hit the median barrier wall and the cab caught fire. The entire load of frozen chickens eventually caught fire and was strewn all over the interstate.

The truck also hit another vehicle and the driver of that car sustained minor injuries.

Witnesses reported that they attempted to rescue the truck driver from the burning wreck but could not. Diesel fuel also spilled from the truck and caught fire.

Our truck accident injury law firm in Virginia has experience with many tragic tractor trailer crashes. It is not known at this time what definitively led to this crash that injured an innocent driver, and killed the truck driver. In our many years of truck crash litigation experience, a truck driver losing control of his rig is usually due to:

• Excessive speed
• Driving fatigue
• Poor truck maintenance
• Lack of training

A particularly tragic truck crash in New Mexico in 2013 killed an innocent driver; it was due to the truck driver working for more than 13 hours without a break. He also was a new driver and had limited experience. His trucking company did not ensure that he was properly trained, and he failed to yield at an intersection, crashing into a car and killing the driver.

Such incidents as these could largely be avoided if all trucking companies would do a better job to ensure that their drivers are properly trained and obey all traffic laws.

The New Mexico case was settled for $58 million.