An English teacher from Wake Forest, North Carolina died Monday afternoon in a chain reaction crash with a dump truck on Capital Boulevard.

The deadly dump truck crash happened in Wake Forest NC just south of Burlington Mills Rd.

According to the Wake Forest High School website, the woman, Michelle Simone Barlow, 42, was a teacher of English who began teaching there in January 2015.

The North Carolina State Police stated this week that it appeared that the teacher was hit from behind by a dump truck. The force of the crash caused Barlow’s vehicle to be pushed into the rear of a tractor trailer.

Investigators are consulting with the Wake County District Attorney’s Office about charges against the dump truck driver.

Our North Carolina trucking accident attorneys truly regret the loss of life in this terrible dump truck accident. All commercial truck drivers must be keenly aware of their surroundings at all times while driving, and must make sure that they are not driving too quickly for conditions.

The Virginia Commercial Driver’s Manual points out the following things that add up to total stopping distance:

• Perception distance
• Reaction distance
• Braking distance
• Total stopping distance

If the dump truck was traveling at 55 MPH, it would take about 4 seconds to stop. If the truck driver was not paying close attention to the road, it is possible that he did not see the stopped traffic in front of him until it was too late. A vehicle going 55 MPH and brakes hard will take at least 300 feet before it stops. It is so important for truck drivers to pay careful attention at all times.

In a case where a deadly accident such as the above occurs and the truck driver is at fault, one option is to file a wrongful death lawsuit so that the truck driver and company must pay for their carelessness. At least a large financial settlement provides some small measure of justice.