trucking accidents

2 people killed after oversize load falls onto Texas highway

Authorities are investigating the cause of an accident that killed two people and critically injured a third Saturday when an oversize load from a passing flatbed truck came loose and fell onto their vehicle on a Texas highway.

The accident happened shortly after 11 a.m., and firefighters in Temple, Texas, responded to the reported collision along State Highway 36. 

“Upon arrival crews found an oversized load had come off of its trailer, pinning a vehicle beneath,” Temple Fire & Rescue said in a F...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/2-people-killed-after-oversize-load-falls-onto-texas-highway

Truckers in British Columbia who hit overpasses may get 18 months in prison

Truck drivers in British Columbia involved in collisions with overpasses could pay up to a $100,000 fine and spend 18 months in prison under changes the province’s Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure has proposed to the Commercial Transport Act.

The stiffer penalties were introduced Tuesday in response to 35 instances since late 2021 of overheight commercial vehicles striking bridges and overpasses.

“With these new penalties, we are taking the strongest action possible to keep our roads...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/truckers-in-british-columbia-who-hit-overpasses-may-get-18-months-in-prison

Canadian authorities suspend 2 more trucking companies after crashes

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Canadian authorities recently shut down two trucking companies in the Vancouver area in the...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/canadian-authorities-suspend-2-more-trucking-companies-after-crashes

Should there be laws protecting trucking companies from nuclear verdicts?

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Iowa lawmakers are considering legislation aimed at providing liability protection for trucking...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/should-there-be-laws-protecting-trucking-companies-from-nuclear-verdicts

How spilled hot coffee 30 years ago changed trucking industry

On Feb. 27, 1992, Stella Liebeck ordered a 49 cent cup of coffee from a McDonald’s drive-thru in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

What happened next forever changed trial jury awards and has had a lasting impact on multiple industries across the U.S., especially commercial transportation. 

Liebeck, who was in the passenger seat of her grandson’s car, spilled the entire cup of coffee on her lap, scalding her thighs, buttocks and groin.

The 79-year-old woman was taken to a hospital, where she was treated...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/how-spilled-hot-coffee-30-years-ago-changed-trucking-industry

Texas court reverses $7.4M trucking accident verdict

A Texas appeals court has reversed a $7.4 million verdict against a trucking company, its owner and one of its drivers after evidence presented at the trial didn’t support the jury’s findings.

Killeen, Texas-based Even Better Logistics LLC and its owner, Michelle Cora Croom, can’t be held liable for negligent hiring, training or supervision of driver Dennis Rayner based on the evidence presented at trial, a panel of the Eighth Court of Appeals in El Paso said Wednesday. 

“We set aside the...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/texas-court-reverses-trucking-accident-verdict

Why is flatbed trucking so dangerous?

The cab of commercial truck that has been smashed by a flatbed load

Mike’s first flatbed delivery was about 20 years ago when he transported a load of granite tombstones during a cold, snowy day and night in Minnesota. Having just finished driver orientation and training for a flatbed carrier, he was looking to make money right away. 

Hauling that load of tombstones paid well but …

“Nobody told me what it was going to be like,” said Mike, who spoke to FreightWaves on the condition of not using his last name. 

“I went there totally unprepared. It was a difficult...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/flatbed-trucking-driver-deaths

Leg found on Texas highway traced to March accident that killed trucker

Police in Texas said they have solved the mystery of a severed human leg found on an interstate highway in March.

Officials with the Boerne Police Department said they believe the leg belongs to Jeremy McGee, 46, of Kerrville, Texas. McGee, a commercial truck driver, was killed after he was struck by an SUV while standing outside his truck on Interstate 10.

Officials said they made the discovery on Interstate 10 in Cibolo, Texas, on March 22 — the same day as a fatal crash involving a commercial...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/leg-on-texas-highway-traced-to-march-accident

Truck driver killed hauling load of steel sheet piles

The driver of a flatbed truck was killed Tuesday when the load he was hauling smashed through his cab, according to the California Highway Patrol.

The accident occurred just before 3 p.m. on Interstate 8 about 25 miles east of San Diego when the truck driver, who has not been identified, abruptly applied his brakes. It caused what was reported to be an improperly secured load of steel sheet pile to shift forward.

“This caused the load to penetrate the back cab of the truck and impale the driver,”...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/truck-driver-killed-hauling-load-of-steel-sheet-piles

Reaction mixed after trucker’s prison term slashed to 10 years

The reaction has been divided after Colorado Gov. Jared Polis reduced the prison sentence for a truck driver convicted of causing a fatal crash that killed four people in 2019.

Polis reduced the prison term of Rogel Aguilera-Mederos from 110 years to 10 years after calling the sentence imposed “highly atypical and unjust” in a letter released Thursday night.

Attorney James Colgan, who represents Aguilera-Mederos, told FreightWaves his client “is very, very appreciative of what the governor did.” 

“...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/reaction-mixed-after-truckers-prison-term-slashed-to-10-years

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