Atlanta Truck Driver Survives Fiery Crash

A wreck on I-285 closed down the interstate near the Ashford Dunwoody exit for ten hours last night. According to the AJC, a young man driving the wrong way in the eastbound lanes slammed into a truck carrying margarine. Margarine is essentially oil. Consequently, it’s highly flammable and slippery. The crash resulted in a fire that took hours to douse. Extra Hazmat crews were on scene to clean the slick mess off the road and keep it from getting into the drains.

The young man did not survive. The driver of the truck – amazingly – was not seriously injured.

Accidents like this can result in a domino effect of legal issues. The death of the young man is a tragedy. The truck driver was lucky, but he should make sure to keep track of all the records of the accident. Sometimes injuries – particularly back and neck injuries, or serious head injuries – do not become apparent until some time after a wreck. The driver will also want to protect himself from liability in the event of a lawsuit. The trucking company was likely insured, but after such a messy, high-profile accident, the company and the driver will likely be negotiating with their insurance company for months.

While the facts  of every trucking accident are unique, driver fatigue from failure to follow federal guidelines regulating the number of hours a trucker is allowed to be on the road contributes to many trucking accidents. When the driver is an employee of the trucking company, the motor carrier company is liable for the driver’s actions under Georgia’s agency laws, so long as the driver was acting within the scope of employment. When a trucking accident is caused by driver fatigue, it is critical to obtain the driver logs and other relevant documents. These documents often prove that the driver and trucking company have not complied with the law. The laws are in place to protect other drivers and the truckers themselves from inattentive drivers and unsafe trucks. The pressure to make more money often leads to truck drivers exceeding the permissible number of hours they can drive in a day and safety violations to the trucks themselves. Another area that commonly leads to accidents is negligent hiring by trucking companies of over-the-road truck drivers. In short, some trucking companies do not perform due diligence during the hiring process and this leads to truck drivers on the road who simply should not be behind the wheel.

Robert J. Fleming is an experienced personal injury lawyer who creates successful outcomes with insurance companies and liable parties. He has been handling wrongful death cases, dental malpractice, bus accidents, car accident cases and premises injury cases for individuals and families who have been harmed, injured or died as a result of the carelessness or negligence of another for more than 20 years. He practices in and around the Atlanta, Georgia area including handling lawsuits in Fulton, DeKalb, Clayton, Gwinnett, Cobb and other counties and nearby cities including Alpharetta, Austell, Avondale Estates, Chamblee, College Park, Conyers, Duluth, Decatur, Doraville, Hapeville, Johns Creek, Jonesboro, Lawrenceville, Norcross, Peachtree City, Riverdale, Roswell, Sandy Springs, Stone Mountain, and Smyrna. If you have been seriously injured in a car accident and would like discuss your case, contact Robert J. Fleming directly on (404) 525-5150 or contact us online.

Source: Mike Morris – Fatal Wrong Way Crash Shuts Down Top-End Perimeter