A bicyclist was killed by a tractor trailer in Queens NY yesterday at 56th Road and 48th Street, and the truck driver has been arrested.

The victim was a 34 year old from Ridgewood NJ. She was taken to a nearby hospital in serious condition and died.

The investigation by NYPD has shown that the 57 year old male driver of the truck was going west on 56th and made a right turn onto 48th, and he hit the biker as she was going west on 56th.

He was immediately arrested at the scene and faces charges of vehicular manslaughter, criminally negligent homicide, and driving while under the influence of drugs.

Our trucking accident injury lawyers have noted that while drunk drivers are less common than they used to be, more people, including truck drivers, are getting behind the wheel after they abuse drugs. Most commonly, this means using marijuana or some type of prescription drug.

Recent surveys by the NHTSA have found that while drunk driving is down at road side stops, the number of drivers with evidence of drugs in their system has increased from 16% in 2007 to 20% in 2014.

Obviously, all drivers should never abuse drugs or alcohol when they get behind the wheel, but this is doubly the case for big rig drivers. These drivers have a commercial driver’s license and have a sacred obligation to drive in a safe manner. Our legal team often represents the families of people who have been killed by negligent truck drivers.

Those truckers, once they are convicted in a court of law, should be further punished by a personal injury lawsuit that holds them financially liable for their actions as well. We recently, for example, reached a $3.5 million settlement for the family of a man who was rear ended by a negligent truck driver in VA.