Tractor-trailers are enormous vehicles, which makes it difficult for the drivers to see everything that is around them. They are also loud because of the engine size required to haul their heavy loads. Since the vehicle may impair both the vision and hearing of a driver, tractor-trailer operators must be especially cautious to avoid truck accidents. Investigators in New York are working to determine if something more than the normal noise and height of a truck prevented the driver from realizing he had struck a pedestrian.
According to witnesses, a person was crossing the street when the truck came through the intersection. Witnesses heard a loud noise as the truck continued down the street, leaving the hooded and bloody body on the side of the road. Onlookers chased the truck, shouting for the driver to stop, but to no avail. Investigators determined that the victim was a 40-year-old woman, although she was not identified. She was pronounced dead at the scene.
The truck was an empty car-carrier. New York police believe the driver may have been unaware that someone had been struck. The truck and its driver were located about four miles from the scene.
Following such a horrific accident, the family of this woman likely has many questions. Like others whose loved ones are victims of truck accidents, they have every right to seek legal counsel in an attempt to obtain compensation for their loss. An attorney will investigate other possible reasons why the driver did not stop at the accident, including driver fatigue or chemical impairment.
Source: New York Daily News, “Car-carrier truck fatally hits woman, leaving her body ‘mangled’ on Brooklyn street”, Kerry Burke and John Annese, Jan. 19, 2017