Trucking Accident Lawyer Blog

Every year dozens of Maryland residents are hurt in traffic accidents. Many of these collisions are caused by driver error and can involve heavy trucks, such as semi tractor-trailers, delivery vehicles, commercial trucks and other large motor vehicles. Unfortunately, when a truck goes out of control on a public road, smaller passenger cars can be hit as well.

Occupants of passenger cars, sport utility vehicle (SUVs) and pickup trucks can be at a high risk of bodily injury during such wrecks. As a Baltimore auto accident lawyer, I and my colleagues have experience in helping victims of car and truck crashes as well as other personal injury accidents. When a semi truck is involved, injuries can be quite severe and fatalities are sometimes encountered.

Recently, news reports documented a tractor-trailer accident that left a state police detective badly injured following a head-on collision on Hobbs Road near Route 50. According to police, Joshua Burton Webb Jr. of Whaleyville was driving his Perdue tractor-trailer north on Hobbs Road around 8am when his vehicle crossed the double yellow line and crashed head-on into an oncoming state police Ford Crown Victoria.

This particular accident happened less than a week after another state trooper was injured in a crash with a passenger car driven by a 75-year-old woman from Hurlock, MD. The officer in that instance was transported to a shock trauma unit in Baltimore following the collision.

In this latest crash, Detective Sgt. David Dalfonso, an assistant commander at the Maryland State Police Princess Anne Barrack, was transported to Peninsula Regional Medical Center. Fortunately for the officer, he was wearing his seatbelt and his injuries were not life threatening.

According to reports, Delfonso was treated for seat belt and air bag injuries but was released the very same day. Police reportedly issued Webb citations for failure to drive right of center and negligent driving.

State police detective recovering after crash, Delmarvanow.com, January 26, 2010

Winter driving presents its own particular danger to the driving public. Slippery conditions can lead to single-car or multi-vehicle accidents, while poor visibility can result in serious injury accidents as well. As a Baltimore personal injury attorney and Maryland motorist myself, I know the potential for property damage and physical harm that cold-weather driving can cause. Large trucks, such as semi tractor-trailer rigs, delivery trucks and heating oil tanker trucks can also pose addition danger on the road.

Earlier this month, a woman was injured in a trucking-related accident when her car was hit by a Garrett County snow plow operated by the county’s roads department. According to reports, Deanna Louise Schroyer, a 46-year-old Friendsville resident, was driving her GMC Sierra pickup truck along Bear Creek Road just before 10am when she apparently drifted into the oncoming lane just as the plow was approaching.

According to Maryland State Police, the Northern Garrett Rescue Squad and the Accident Volunteer Fire Department responded to the accident after being alerted by the Garrett County 911 center. Once on the scene they treated both drivers.

Schroyer was transported to Western Maryland Regional Medical Center in Cumberland following the crash with unknown injuries. The driver of the plow, 50-year-old Ricky Nugent of Grantsville, MD, was unhurt in the accident. He was reportedly driving a county-owned 2000 Sterling dump truck fitted with a snow plow for clearing roads in the area.

News reports indicate that the state police issued a citation to Schroyer charging her with failure to drive right of center.

Woman injured in snowplow crash, Times-News.com, January 7, 2010

Trucking accidents, especially on the interstate, can be horrendous events. Occupants of passenger cars, SUVs and light pickup trucks can be severely injured if their vehicle is hit by a semi truck, such as a Peterbuilt, Kenworth or International long-haul commercial truck. As a Maryland injury law firm, my staff has helped numerous individuals who have been hurt in traffic accidents involving large, big-rig tractor-trailers.

This is not to say that truck drivers themselves do not become injured as well. With a dozen or more tons of cargo on the trailer behind the truck cab, an over-the-road trucker can easily be hurt or killed in a high-speed crash or even medium-speed trucking accidents. A news article highlighted what can happen when two trucks collide on the expressway.

According to news reports, there was a double tractor-trailer crash just north of the Maryland border in mid-December that injured the drivers of both rigs. The accident, which occurred around 2am on I-78 in Delaware County, PA, apparently tied up traffic for hours.

Based on police reports, a truck driven by Baltimore resident Joe Craig was parked along the shoulder of the interstate. Craig had reportedly stopped to look at a map when another semi truck apparently lost control and clipped the front of the Maryland man’s trator-trailer. The out-of-control rig then careened down a 30-foot embankment. In the process, the truck tore off about 200 feet of safety guard rail on the roadside before rolling down the hill. It was unknown if the cause was due to defective vehicle equipment.

Before emergency crews arrived, Craig helped the other driver to safety. He reportedly said that he thought the man had died in the accident, which threw debris all around the crash site. Fortunately, neither of the drivers was seriously injured, although the driver who lost control was taken to a local hospital with reportedly non-life threatening injuries.

Double Tractor Trailer Accident Along Interstate 78 Injures One, Closes Right Lane, Fox43.com, December 15, 2009

Trucking accidents, due to their scale, can result in tragic and many time fatal outcomes. Such was the case in an October United Parcel Service truck crash that killed the driver of a second vehicle and injured a young passenger. As a personal injury lawyer practicing in the Baltimore area, I have helped numerous victims of trucking-related wrecks recover damages caused by another driver’s negligence.

In this case, the operator of the delivery truck has only recently been charged with several traffic offenses. Based on news reports, Baltimore County police charged 28-year-old Kevin Callahan of Owings Mills with negligent driving, failure to stop at a red signal and failure to obey a traffic device.

On October 5, 2009, Callahan was driving north on York Road when his truck broadsided a vehicle at the intersection of York and Corbett roads in Monkton, MD. The collision killed the driver, 48-year-old Tim Wheatley, and injured Wheatley’s 9-year-old daughter who was getting a ride to Sparks Elementary School. The girl was critically injured in the accident and has since been released from the hospital, according to news reports.

Although the accident resulted in a death, law enforcement authorities investigated the accident and determined that there was no intent to harm anyone on Callahan’s part. The UPS driver now has the choice to accept the charges and pay the penalties including points on his license, or he can go to court and fight the citations. There was no mention of whether the deceased man’s family would pursue a wrongful death civil suit against the delivery driver or his employer, UPS.

UPS driver charged in fatal crash in Monkton, ExploreBaltimoreCounty.com, December 21, 2009