Speed Related Tractor-Trailer Crash

Local East Tennessee media reported that investigators believe that a 58-year-old South Carolina tractor-trailer driver was traveling in excess of the speed limit when he came to a curve on I-26 near Flag Pond, Tennessee when we was unable to negotiate the curve, left the road and overturned. The posted speed limit for trucks is 50 MPH.

According to police reports skid marks were visible on the asphalt hundreds of feet before the point where the truck hit the guardrail. The report went on to say that the cab and trailer rolled several times, knocking down about 350 feet of the guardrail. The cab and trailer landed at least 50 feet apart. Although the accident occurred at 10 AM, it was about noon before emergency personnel could get to the drivers body to remove it from the destroyed cab..

Speeding is one of the most prevalent factors contributing to traffic crashes. The economic cost of speeding-related crashes is estimated to be in excess of 40.4 billion dollars per year. In 2007, speeding was a contributing factor in 31 percent of all fatal crashes, and 13,040 lives were lost in speeding-related crashes. The total economic cost of crashes is estimated at $230.6 billion or more last year.

If you are involved in a Tennessee accident with a tractor-trailer contact an experienced Tennessee tractor-trailer accident lawyer like those you will find at Phillip Miller & Associates. If you or a loved one is injured in a car tractor-trailer accident act quickly and take advantage of a no-cost no-obligation consultation and learn about your rights and put our crack team of lawyers and investigators on the case.

Riley Ealy, 26 is a combat engineer with the 101^st Airborne stationed at Fort Campbell who had recently served 9-months in Iraq and was awarded a Purple Heart for wounds received in combat. As of today he stands indicted in Covington, Kentucky, on charges of with second-degree manslaughter, first-degree wanton endangerment and drunken driving in the death of his friend.

How does a man who served his country at the highest level find himself in such a situation? The answer is alcohol. According to an article on the web site of WATE TV in Knoxville. Investigators claim that Mr. Ealy was drunk when he drove off the road just before sunrise on September 3 and crashed into a tree, killing his friend, 24-year old James Fry of Walton, Kentucky. My thoughts and prayers go out to both of these men and their families and I hope that some good can come from the tragedy in the future.

Drunk driving is one of America’s deadliest crimes. In Tennessee in 2008, 327 people were killed in crashes where the driver or motorcyclist had a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of .08 or higher. That is down from 377 people killed in 2007 with a BAC of .08 or higher. Over the 2008 Labor Day holiday, 12 people were killed in 10 fatal crashes on Tennessee roadways, down from 17 people killed on Tennessee roadways in 2007.

When you get behind the wheel of a motor vehicle and you have been drinking you taking a deadly weapon in your hands and the result is never good. If you or a loved one is injured in a Nashville automobile accident contact the Nashville automobile accident attorneys at Phillip Miller & Associates and find out about your rights and remedies.

The Nashville personal injury law firm of Phillip Miller & Associates is not representing any of the parties mentioned in this article at the time the article was posted. Our information source is cited in the article. If you were involved in this incident or a similar incident and have questions as to your rights and options, call us or another reputable law firm. Do not act solely upon the information provided herein. Get a consultation.

Drunk Driving Kills

Young Distracted Driver No Seatbelt

According to the Springfield police officer investigating a three vehicle collision on the Tom Austin Highway that left one dead and eight injured, neither alcohol nor drugs appeared to be a contributing factor. An article in the Nashville Tennessean said that Joshua Wooten, 20, of Adams was driving a Chevrolet Cobalt when he unexplainably crossed the center-line and side-swiped a Ford Expedition driven by Silas Gardner, 51, of Nashville causing it to spin off the roadway.

Mr. Wooten’s vehicle then crossed the centerline and crashed head-on into a vehicle driven by Sherry Tubbs, 41 of Springfield. Ms. Tubbs had two adults and five children in the van with her. All eight people in Ms. Tubbs’ car were taken to Vanderbilt and Vanderbilt Children’s Hospital. All but one passenger were released and Mr. Wooten was pronounced dead at the scene, he was not wearing his seatbelt.

My heart goes out to the family of Mr. Wooten for their tragic loss. I offer my deepest condolences to everyone who knew and loved this young man. Please keep them in your prayers. I also hope for a speedy recovery for Ms. Tubbs and her passengers, and thank god that no one in Mr.Gardner’s vehicle were injured in what could have been far more deadly than it was.

If I was the lawyer for either Ms. Tubbs or Mr. Gardner I’d focus my investigation on just what was going on at the time Mr. Wooten crossed into the oncoming lane. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration approximately 80% of roadway crashes are caused by drivers who have been distracted just prior to the collision. The majority of distraction collisions over the past five years have been caused by cell phone use. Was Mr. Wooten using his cell phone? Was he texting? Something had to cause him to take his eyes off the road.

Young drivers, ages, 15- to 20-years old, are especially vulnerable to death and injury on our roadways, traffic crashes are the leading cause of death for teenagers in America. Mile for mile, teenagers are involved in three times as many fatal crashes as all other drivers. Teens buckle up far less frequently than adults do. Despite efforts aimed at increasing belt use among teens, observed seat belt use among teens and young adults (16 to 24 years old) stood at 76 percent in 2006, the lowest of any age group. In fact, in 2006 the majority (58%) of young people 16 to 20 years old involved in fatal motor vehicle crashes were unbuckled.

The Nashville personal injury law firm of Phillip Miller & Associates,  is not representing any of the parties mentioned in this article at the time the article was posted. Our information source is cited in the article. If you were involved in this incident or a similar incident and have questions as to your rights and options, call us or another reputable law firm. Do not act solely upon the information provided herein. Get a consultation. The best law firms will provide a free consultation. We provide a free, confidential consultation to not at fault persons named in this article. The free consultation offer extends to family members as well