Accidents in which large commercial vehicles are involved often result in serious injuries or death. The family of an 80-year-old Birmingham man is mourning after the man was recently killed in a tragic truck accidents.
The truck accident occurred along a stretch of Alabama’s Interstate 59. According to police, the fatal accident happened around 6 a.m. when the 66-year-old driver of a semi truck was traveling southbound on I-59. At that same time, the 80-year-old man was traveling northbound when the semi truck crossed into the northbound lane in which he was traveling.
The semi truck crashed head-on into the SUV which the 80-year-old man was driving. The 80-year-old sustained fatal injuries and was pronounced dead at the accident scene. The 66-year-old truck driver sustained injuries in the crash and was taken to the University of Alabama Hospital in Birmingham for medical treatment.
While it’s not yet clear what factors or conditions may have contributed to the fatal crash, there are several possibilities. Many head-on crashes such as this one result when drivers are distracted. Reaching for something in the truck’s cab or looking down at a cellphone are distracting activities that take a driver’s eyes and focus off of the road.
Another possibility is that the truck driver was overly tired and nodded off while driving. Each year, fatigue is to blame for thousands of motor vehicle accidents many of which result in serious or fatal injuries. Whatever the cause, the family of the driver who was killed may chose to take legal action against the truck driver for his negligence.
Source: Alabama Live, “Elderly Birmingham man killed in interstate crash today in St. Clair County,” Carol Robinson, Dec. 3, 2012
