A 56 year old man from St. Louis died on the afternoon of April 18 when a tractor trailer lost control on Route 50 in northwest Virginia and hit him. 

The Frederick County, Virginia sheriff’s office stated that the tractor trailer crash happened at the intersection of VA 259 and US 50. They noted that the tractor trailer driver was traveling on VA 259 but did not stop when he approached US 50. He crossed both lanes of US 50 and he hit the man on a 2015 Triumph motorcycle.

The motorcyclist died of internal injuries at a local hospital.

The truck driver told the police that his brakes had failed, but he was charged with reckless driving. The Virginia State Police are inspecting the tractor trailer to determine if there were any brake problems.

Our View

National statistics state that 3852 died in large truck crashes in 2015. At least 15 percent of them were pedestrians, bicyclists or motorcyclists. The number of people killed in tractor trailer crashes was 22% higher in 2015 than 2009.

As the above statistics show, too many people are killed in tractor trailer crashes each year. As personal injury, truck accident attorneys in Virginia, we see many truck crash cases that were caused by truck driver negligence. Sometimes the truck driver falls asleep while driving. Other times he is texting or looking at a cell phone. And other times he might be adjusting his radio or talking to a passenger. Driver inattention behind the wheel of a big rig can be disastrous.

In other truck crash cases, there may be an equipment failure, most often the brakes. Maintenance negligence is another common problem on tractor trailers today. It is the responsibility of the truck driver and the trucking company to regularly inspect their rigs to ensure they are safe. In fact, the Virginia CDL manual advises that truck drivers should conduct an inspection of their rig every day before they start their route. 

The manual states that the driver should carefully inspect the brakes to see if there are any cracked drums, frayed air hoses, cracks or dents in the air chamber, brake shoes that are worn thin, missing or broken, and any broken or loose slack adjusters. A daily inspection of the major systems on the tractor trailer could save a life.

When a truck driver either neglects his driving duties or does not inspect his rig, terrible, deadly truck crashes can occur. Our personal injury and wrongful death lawsuit attorneys in Virginia advise all trucking companies and drivers to drive safely. When they fail to do so, serious death and injury can occur, which often leads to expensive personal injury and wrongful death lawsuits worth millions of dollars in damages.