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Attorney’s Office Recently Announced That it Would Drop a Felony Charge Against a Connecticut Truck Driver

June 21, 2012 General

While there are similarities, a semi or pickup truck accident often results in much deadlier destruction than a car accident. Today’s story illustrates that damage.

A local district attorney’s office recently announced that it would drop a felony charge against a Connecticut truck driver in exchange for a guilty plea to involuntary manslaughter for a truck crash that resulted in one fatality. The driver had been charged with running a light and striking a BMW sedan attempting to make a left turn at an intersection. The BMW passed under the truck’s trailer portion and was struck by the rear wheels.

According to a recent report by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration that measured accident data from 2002 to 2010, efforts to reduce the number of deaths in crashes between cars and pickups have been unsuccessful. Fatalities in cars hit by pickups actually increased by 5% in that time period.

NHTSA has new technology that measures whether the forces from trucks strike higher than prescribed in routine crash tests. The higher fatality rate is likely caused by the height mismatch between cars and trucks.

Although many automakers have voluntarily agreed to address the height mismatch, none is required to prove compliance. Previous efforts by the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers to lobby for a federal rule adopting the car-truck crash standard were also unsuccessful. The chairman of that committee believes a uniform test would ensure automakers are all complying in the same way.

If you have sustained serious injuries in a motor vehicle accident, don’t delay in consulting with an attorney that can review your case and advise you of the evidence you will need to prove your claim. An attorney can work with accident reconstruction specialists, independent investigators, medical experts and economic experts to establish the true value of your case and determine which parties may have been at fault in the crash.

Source: PhillyBurbs.com, “DA to drop homicide charge against truck driver in fatal accident,” Jo Ciavaglia, June 21, 2012