New Orleans Personal Injury Attorneys
  1. Home
  2.  — 
  3. Truck Accidents
  4.  — Truck accident results in serious injuries and death

Truck accident results in serious injuries and death

On Behalf of | Jun 25, 2014 | Truck Accidents

Readers of this blog and residents of Louisiana alike may be familiar with the show “30 Rock.” If they are, they are also likely familiar with the actor Tracy Morgan. Unfortunately, the actor was recently involved in a tragic car accident that left him and some of his friends with serious injuries and left another individual dead.

The truck accident occurred on June 7 when the limo van in which Morgan was traveling was rear-ended by a Walmart truck. Morgan’s 62-year-old friend was killed while he and two others suffered serious injuries for which they are currently receiving medical treatment.

According to an accident report released by federal transportation safety investigators, the truck driver was traveling at 65 miles per hour in the minute before he crashed into Morgan’s vehicle. The speed limit on that portion of the road is usually 55 miles per hour, but had been reduced to 45 miles per hour that evening for road construction.

In addition to the truck driver’s speeding, it is also suspected that he had been working for approximately 13.5 hours that day. Truck drivers are allowed to work up to 14 hours per day, but can only spend 11 of those hours driving. If he continued on to his ultimate destination at the speed limit, he would have likely exceeded 14 hours.

At this point, the truck driver is facing some criminal charges to which he has pleaded not guilty. However, there is the possibility that he will face civil penalties as well. Truck drivers are held to a higher standard of care than other drivers on the road, and when they violate these standards, they may be considered negligent and held responsible to provide compensation to the injured parties and potentially their families.

Source: KATC, “Spokesman: Tracy Morgan transferred to rehab,” June 20, 2014

Archives