A deadly Tennessee tractor-trailer accident was reported Wednesday on I-40 in the Mt. Juliet area, the Tennessean reported.
The trucking accident occurred when a semi carrying toxic acid slammed head-on into a pickup truck that was driving the wrong way down the off ramp, Juliet police reported. The drivers of both vehicles were killed and the interstate was closed for hours between mile marker 228 and 225.
The crash scene spanned from the Mt. Juliet Road overpass, back to the beginning of the exit ramp. The vehicles collided with such force that it knocked an axle off the tractor-trailer truck.
Our Tennessee injury lawyers frequently report on the dangers large trucks pose to other motorists on the road. While the pickup truck’s driver was apparently at fault in this case, the extreme weight of tractor-trailers frequently make such accidents fatal to other motorists on the road. The toxic materials involved in this case is also a reminder that trucks often carry hazardous loads.
The acid container was breached in the accident but authorities described the leak as “not to the point of massive” and did not need to evacuate the area.
The Tennessee Highway Patrol is investigating the collision.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reports that large trucks are involved in 1 in 9 fatal accidents on the road. In 2008, Tennessee trucking accidents killed 92 motorists. A total of 4,229 motorists were killed and more than 90,000 were injured in accidents involving large trucks. Of those, about 3,500 were occupants of other vehicles or were bicyclists or pedestrians. Fewer than 700 of the fatalities involved tractor-trailer occupants.
If you or a loved one is injured or killed in a trucking accident in Tennessee, contact Hartsoe Law Firm, P.C. for a confidential appointment to discuss your rights with our Knoxville injury lawyers and Maryville accident attorneys. Call (877) 472-5657.