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Posted On: August 26, 2008

19-Year-Old Driver Struck Truck That Fell Over Chesapeake Bay Bridge

Officials in Maryland have confirmed reports that the car that sideswiped the tractor-trailer that fell off the Chesapeake Bay Bridge on August 10 was driven by a 19-year-old woman that fell asleep at the wheel. The driver, Candy Lynn Baldwin, was also injured in the catastrophic auto crash, which killed truck driver John Short. The Maryland medical examiner’s office cited drowning and multiple injuries as the trucker’s cause of death.

Baldwin has undergone several surgeries since the accident and will likely undergo more. According to NBC4.com, she also faces a wrongful death lawsuit from the accident.

Baldwin’s Chevrolet Camaro struck the large truck after crossing the center line. The impact of the collision caused the 40,000 pound tractor-trailer to crash through the jersey wall and drop into the Chesapeake Bay. The accident happened at around 4am and when traffic moving in both directions were sharing the bridge’s eastbound span.

Meantime, the Maryland Transportation Authority is continuing to investigate the accident. Just last week inspectors were examining the bridge. According to Maryland Transportation Authority chief engineer Geoffrey Kolberg, “We have no doubt about the safety of the bridge, but we will do as thorough a job as possible.”

If you believe that you were injured in a motor vehicle accident because another party was negligent, you should speak with an experienced Baltimore personal injury lawyer right away. There may be more than one party that is liable for your injury accident, and our car crash lawyers can explore all avenues of recovery for you.

If someone you love has died in a truck crash, car collision, motorcycle accident, or bus crash that you believe occurred because someone was reckless, negligent, or careless, a Maryland wrongful death lawyer can speak with you.

Bay Bridge Lane Closes; State Inspection Follows Fatal Crash, BaltimoreSun.com, August 19, 2008

Woman Faces Civil Lawsuit In Fatal Bay Bridge Crash, NBC4.com, August 21, 2008


Related Web Resources:

Bay Bridge, Maryland Transportation Authority

Truck Driver Dies In Bay Bridge Crash, WashingtonPost.com, August 10, 2008

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Posted In: Truck Accidents

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Posted On: August 14, 2008

Anne Arundel County Jury Awards Truck Driver $1.95 Million for Personal Injury

In Anne Arundel County, Maryland, a man who sustained serious injuries after he was hit by a cement-mixer truck in 2005 has been awarded $1.95 million. Robert L. Howard, a truck driver for Goodwill Industries, lost 70% use of his left arm and suffered severe post-traumatic stress disorder because of the catastrophic truck accident, which happened while he was working on his disabled motor vehicle on the shoulder of the Baltimore-Washington Parkway. $1.83 million of the jury award for pain and suffering will be capped at $650,000, which was Maryland’s legal limit at the time of the truck crash.

The driver of the cement mixer truck was Richard Anthony Schulman, who left the crash scene. He later said that he did not know he had hit anyone until he read about the accident in the news. Schulman has an extensive criminal record, which includes convictions for theft and drug crimes.

Killed in the accident was Howard’s assistant, Errol Johnson, who was standing outside the truck with him. Schulman and Lafarge Mid-Atlantic reached a settlement agreement with Johnson’s family earlier this year.

Schulman was charged with leaving the scene and he pleaded guilty to one count of negligent driving. No criminal charges related to his truck striking the two men were filed against him.

Trucking Accidents
Truck drivers and trucking companies are upheld to a higher standards of care when driving on US roads. If you or someone you love was seriously injured in a truck collision, you may be entitled to personal injury recovery for your pain and suffering, as well as other damages. Even if the person or company responsible for your crash will not face criminal charges related to your injury accident, you can still hold them liable in civil court.

It is important that you work with a Maryland trucking accident law firm that is familiar with state and Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration regulations and knows how to negotiate settlements and win lawsuits against trucking companies.

Man struck by a truck awarded $1.95 million, BaltimoreSun.com, July 26, 2008

Jury awards driver struck by cement truck $1.95M, DailyRecord.com, July 24, 2008

Related Web Resource:

Rules and Regulations, FMCSA

Trucking Regulations and Guidelines, Maryland Department of Transportation State Highway Administration

Maryland Personal Injury Law, Peoples-law.org

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Posted In: Truck Accidents

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Posted On: August 11, 2008

Maryland Tractor-Trailer Driver Dies in Multi-Vehicle Crash As His Truck Plunges Off the Bay Bridge into the Chesapeake Bay

Maryland resident John Robert Short, a tractor-trailer driver, died, in a deadly three-motor vehicle crash on the Bay Bridge on Sunday morning after his truck fell into the Chesapeake Bay. The Maryland Transportation Authority Police say that this is the first time in the bridge’s 56-year history that a motor vehicle has fallen off the bridge into the water. The deadly accident caused major traffic delays all day on Sunday on both sides of US 50, and traffic continued to be slow on Monday morning.

Also involved in the crash were a Toyota Prius and a Chevrolet Camaro. Two people in the Camaro were taken to Maryland Shock Trauma Center for treatment. The two people in the Prius did not sustain any injuries.

The deadly crash happened before 4am on Sunday when two-way traffic was being directed on the eastbound span (the westbound span was closed for repairs). Short’s tractor-trailer slammed into the jersey wall, leaving a 10-15 foot opening, before falling at least 30 feet into the water. Police have yet to give their account of what happened during the crash.

The driver of the Prius, Seung Won Hong, gave his account of the crash to the newspaper the Baltimore Sun. Hong says that the Camaro and the truck collided, causing the tractor-trailer to spin out of control and strike Hong’s car before it crashed into the wall.

Gary McLhinney, a former Transportation Authority Police Chief, says that two-way traffic on a single span “has the potential to be disastrous.” At this point, however, authorities have no way of knowing whether two-way traffic helped cause the deadly crash.

Regina Averella, an AAA Mid-Atlantic spokesperson says that most deadly crashes on the Bay Bridge have happened when two-way traffic was in effect. In May 2007, five people got hurt and three people died in a seven-vehicle collision that took place in two-way traffic on the westbound span.

Driver dies as truck plunges off Bay Bridge, BaltimoreSun.com, August 11, 2008

Truck Driver Dies In Bay Bridge Crash, Washington Post, August 11, 2008


Related Web Resource:

Bay Bridge, Maryland Transportation Authority

Please contact our Baltimore motor vehicle crash law firm if you or someone you love was injured in an auto accident that was caused by another party's negligence.

Continue reading " Maryland Tractor-Trailer Driver Dies in Multi-Vehicle Crash As His Truck Plunges Off the Bay Bridge into the Chesapeake Bay " »

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Posted In: Truck Accidents

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