A woman in New Haven CT was taken to a local hospital yesterday after she was struck by a tractor trailer in the parking lot of Bella Vista Apartments in New Haven.

She was hit at 10 am between two buildings of the complex near the deli and grocery store. The woman was walking across the parking lot when she was hit by the truck, whose driver apparently did not see her and yield.

The woman suffered lacerations and a serious ankle injury. The police stated that the truck driver was making a food delivery to the complex and he was leaving the parking lot and did not see the woman walking in front of his truck. The collision knocked the elderly woman down and dragged her several feet.

The woman is in stable condition at the hospital. The police continue to investigate the incident.

Our Virginia truck accident attorneys hope that this woman recovers quickly from her injuries. According to our state’s commercial driver’s manual, to be a safe truck driver, it is imperative to know what is going on at all times around the truck. On the open road, a truck driver needs to look 12-15 seconds ahead to anticipate any possible problems on the road.

But in a parking lot, a truck driver must use extreme caution and move very deliberately and slowly to ensure that there are no pedestrians in the area. Parking lots are full of other vehicles and it can be difficult to see even when driving in a small vehicle. In a large truck, it can be especially dangerous.

It always is vitally important that truck drivers pay close attention when they are driving; when they do not, terrible accidents can happen. We worked on a case where a truck driver was not paying attention or possibly fell asleep behind the wheel and slammed into the rear of a car in Virginia. A young girl was in the back seat and she suffered permanent brain injuries. We won a multi-million dollar structured settlement in that case.