Estate of Victim in I-81 Crash Files Lawsuit Against Truck Driver, Trucking Company for Wrongful Death

The driver of a semi-truck that lost control and killed three people on Interstate 81 in mid-July allegedly ignored drive-time regulations and had been driving 36 of the last 72 hours when the crash took place, according to a wrongful death lawsuit filed against the driver and the company he works for.

The 80-year-old decedent’s estate filed a wrongful death lawsuit seeking “an excess of $150,000 in damages” for multiple counts of negligence and the victim’s wrongful death. According to the lawsuit, the plaintiffs claim the tractor-trailer driver, trucking company 4G Express, LLC, and shipping company Flock Freight, Inc. all contributed negligence to the accident that led to the deaths of three people.

The crash itself involved four vehicles and 11 people. It took place around 1:53 p.m. on July 14. The accident closed a stretch of highway until around midnight that day.

What happened? 

According to reports, the truck driver was in the left-hand lane of I-81 North when he began to merge into the right lane. The driver, at this point, did not see another vehicle while merging, causing him to lose control and swerve into the southbound lanes. He ultimately struck a Subaru Outback that was carrying the decedent and a 79-year-old man. The initial collision caused the Subaru Outback to strike a Toyota Sienna, killing the 28-year-old driver. A fourth vehicle was damaged by debris from the crash, state police said.

According to the plaintiffs, the truck driver showed a “complete and utter disregard” for commercial vehicle regulations in the days leading up to the crash. Federal regulations require commercial drivers to work a maximum of 11 hours after 10 consecutive hours off duty in a 14-hour window. Drivers are also required to take a 30-minute break every eight hours of driving and cannot exceed 60 hours on duty over a seven-day period or 70 hours over an eight-day period.

The plaintiff’s lawsuit alleges that the semi-truck driver exceeded the 11 hour limit by 30 minutes and failed to complete the mandatory 10-hour rest period before driving the next day. On July 13, the driver drove 900 miles from Philadelphia to South Carolina while carrying a load but his status was off-duty. The driver stopped driving at 11:56 p.m. on July 13 but picked up his next load at 4:50 a.m. on July 14 and was driving to New Jersey when he caused the aforementioned crash.

In the 72 hours leading up to the crash, the driver had driven a total of 36 hours and seven minutes, the lawsuit claimed. The plaintiffs suggest that the driver’s negligence toward the drive time rules directly led to the fatal crash. The lawsuit claims he “consciously chose to operate” the tractor-trailer in “fatigued condition.”

Talk to a Tulsa, Oklahoma Truck Accident Lawyer Today 

Levinson Law, P.C. represents the interests of victims in traffic accidents involving commercial vehicles. Call our Tulsa personal injury lawyers today to schedule a consultation, and we can begin investigating your case right away.

Source:

pennlive.com/news/2024/11/estate-of-woman-killed-in-i-81-crash-sues-tractor-trailer-driver-employers.html