North Carolina Injury Attorney Blog

When you are speeding and not paying attention on a busy city thoroughfare, bad things can happen. Yesterday in Charlotte, a reckless driver caused a serious 5 car pile-up. When the driver of a Mercedes Benz sped down W.T. Harris Boulevard, which is a four lane highway, it ran another car off the road and then into another vehicle.

After the initial collision, the Mercedes flipped over onto its top and slid approximately 300 feet where it smashed into another car and an SUV. The Mercedes was destroyed.

Fireman responded to the crash very quickly. One person was pinned in their vehicle, and emergency workers had to cut that person out of their car. That person and three others involved in the collisions suffered injuries and were transported to a local hospital.

Careless and reckless driving charges will most likely be filed against the driver of the Mercedes. Police did not disclose what caused the initial collision.

Please read the Thanksgiving Safe Driving Tips below:

Continue reading "Thanksgiving Safety Tips For Those On The Roads" »

A sobering study by Consumer Reports regarding mobile device use for drivers under the age of 30 recently found that of those surveyed:

63% used a cell phone while driving in the last 30 days;

30% texted while driving in the past 30 days;

Only 36 % were very concerned with distracted driving;

Only 30% thought using a cell phone while driving was very dangerous; and

58% saw a dangerous situation because of distracted driving in the last 30 days.

Consumer Reports released this data just as it is beginning a joint public services campaign with the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT). The campaign aims to bring awareness of the dangers of distracted driving to young people.

According to the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration, distracted driving injured almost half a million people in 2009, and killed nearly 5,500. The Virginia Tech Transportation Institute found that dialing a phone makes it six times more likely to get into an accident, while texting while driving multiplies the chance of an accident by 23.

Continue reading "Consumer Reports Finds Young Adults Texting While Driving " »

Last Friday afternoon just after 4 pm, a 2004 Nissan Maxima driven by Temikia Gooding, 23, of Kinston, hydroplaned on a rain slick highway near New Bern, crossed the center-line, rotated counter-clockwise, and was struck by a large dump truck driven by Charles White, 49, of New Bern.

The front of the dump truck impacted the Maxima on the passenger's side of the vehicle. The driver of the Maxima and her passenger, Alsheen Wooten, 27, of Vanceboro, were killed in the crash. The truck driver reported that the Maxima suddenly crossed into his lane of travel, and that he did not have time to avoid the collision.

The Maxima was traveling north on NC Highway 43, and the dump truck was traveling south.The investigating North Carolina State Trooper concluded that the driver of the Maxima was driving too fast for the rainy conditions. The investigating Trooper indicated that no charges would be filed against the driver of the dump truck. Knowing what to do if your vehicle hydroplanes is critical for safe driving on wet roads.

Continue reading "Fatal Crash On NC Highway 43 Near New Bern Blamed On Hydroplaning" »

On Saturday afternoon, a pick-up truck driver failed to see an oncoming motorcycle before making a left hand turn and caused a severe collision. The pick-up truck driver, Doris Collins, 70, of Nicole Lane, in Rockingham, North Carolina was headed southbound on U.S. Highway 220 in Richmond County just before the crash.

A motorcycle driven by Doug Franklin, 35, of Greenfield Road, in Hamlet, North Carolina was headed northbound on U.S. 220. Also on the motorcycle was a young juvenile passenger.

View Larger Map

The northbound motorcycle had the right of way, but the southbound truck crossed into the oncoming lane and struck the motorcycle.

Continue reading "Truck Strikes Motorcycle Near Rockingham, North Carolina on US 220" »

">

A lack of manpower in the North Carolina State Highway Patrol Motor Carrier Enforcement Section means that many tractor trailer trucks are running illegally on North Carolina roads and highways.

North Carolina currently ranks sixth (6th) in the nation for truck accidents. This staggering statistic is certainly related to the fact that so many trucks and their drivers are operating outside of the law. In 2009, more than 50 percent (50%) of the tractor trailers inspected in North Carolina had serious safety and/or equipment violations. Of those found to be in violation, more than twelve percent (12%) were in such bad shape that they were shut down and "put out of service." Being "put out of service" means that, as a result of serious safety violations, a tractor trailer or its driver are deemed an imminent danger to the general public.

Of the almost 10 million tractor trailer trucks coming through North Carolina weigh stations each year, only a mere one percent (1%) are inspected. If more than fifty percent (50%) of those inspected are in violation of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations, then one can conservatively surmise that at least every other truck you see on the road is operating in violation of the law.

Most states operate their inspection and weigh stations for commercial motor vehicles on a 24/7 basis. But not North Carolina. In North Carolina, weigh stations operate approximately 15 hours a day, five (5) days a week. At many weigh station locations, there is no State Trooper present to chase down truck drivers who refuse to stop at the weigh station. In the truck industry, North Carolina is considered "trucker friendly" due to our low number of inspections.The North Carolina State Highway Patrol says the problem is manpower. If that is the case, the North Carolina General Assembly needs to dedicate some funding toward increased enforcement. It should crack down on the truck industry by requiring that more trucks be inspected, by putting dangerous truck drivers and their unsafe rigs out of service, and by levying heavy fines to the truck companies that allow these drivers to be on the road.

Continue reading "Lack Of Enforcement Leads To High North Carolina Truck Accident Ranking" »

A Sylva, North Carolina man and his son were killed by a negligent truck driver on Friday while trying to help a stranded motorist in Virginia.

Early Friday morning, around 12:30a.m., a passenger car spun out on a snow slick Interestate 81 near mile marker 58 in Wythe County, Virginia. The car came to rest in the left hand lane of the two northbound lanes. William Edward Smith Sr., 54, of Sylva, N.C., pulled his Dodge Caravan over onto the right hand shoulder and stopped so that his son could render aid to the stranded driver. As William Edward Smith, Jr., 25, of Mooresburg, Tenn. began making his way toward the stranded vehicle, a tractor-trailer driver lost control of his big rig and started jackknifing toward the minivan. The tractor trailer crashed into the minivan and then ran over the younger Mr. Smith. Both father and son were killed.

At the time of the crash, it was snowing quite hard and the road was white. The truck driver caused the collision because he violated several Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations. These safety rules require truck drivers to exercise extreme caution when hazardous conditions, such as those caused by snow, ice, sleet, fog, mist, rain, dust, or smoke, adversely affect visibility or traction. If the roads become dangerous, the rules require the truck driver to stop driving. If the truck driver had followed the rules, then these two courageous men would still be alive.

Virginia State Police Trooper H.D. Mooney has not completed his investigation of this crash. Charges against the truck driver are pending.

Continue reading "Sylva, NC Good Samaritans Killed By Negligent Truck Driver" »

A Pennsylvania tanker truck driver fell asleep at the wheel of his 18 wheeler early Sunday morning and spilled a few thousand gallons of milk onto the side of Interstate 85 Business in High Point.

The crash closed down I-85 in both directions for several hours while commercial wrecker crews worked to clear the totalled tanker and the spilled milk.

The truck driver told investigators that he was hauling 6500 gallons of milk at the time of the rollover. No other vehicles were involved in the wreck, and no injuries were reported. While it is tempting to make light of this crash and ask where was the Keebler truck, the cause of this wreck (fatigued driving) is no laughing matter and is epidemic in the trucking industry.

To avoid being a victim of a tired trucker, never drive alongside of a large truck. If you must pass a tractor-trailer on the interstate, you should first make sure that you have room to move all the way past the truck before beginning your passing maneuvor, and you should steadily accellerate your vehicle as you move past the truck so that you do not get hidden in the trucker's blind spot.

Continue reading "Tired Trucker in High Point Spills a Ton of Milk" »