A Laurel, Delaware man was killed by a passing tractor trailer on the shoulder of Del. 1 at Paddock Road near Smyrna DE, according to the Delaware State Police. 

The cash happened on Oct. 17 at 12:30 pm, when a big rig drifted onto the shoulder of Del. 1. The truck struck a 64 year old man who had just gotten out of the driver’s side of his truck. The passing tractor trailer then hit the truck that was parked on the shoulder.

State police did not know why the tractor trailer had drifted onto the right shoulder of the highway.

Our View

This tractor trailer crash involving pedestrian death is a sad example of an accident that should not have happened if the truck driver had being paying attention to the road. While we do not know why the truck drifted onto the right shoulder of the highway, we can assume that the driver was distracted for some reason.

It was perfectly legal for the parked truck to be on the shoulder of that Delaware highway. State law states that passing traffic must slow down or move over when there is a vehicle stopped on the shoulder of a highway.

Whatever the reason that the truck driver was distracted, a life was needlessly lost. Families who lose a loved one due to the possibly negligent actions of another party have the right to file a wrongful death lawsuit for compensation for their pain and suffering.

We recently settled a wrongful death case involving a tractor trailer, which amounted to $2.4 million. That money was very helpful to the family as they needed to replace the income of the breadwinner, who lost his life when his car flipped on a highway after being hit in the rear by a truck.