Northfield Township, MI — A passenger in a pickup truck was killed on Thursday when he was hit by an 18-wheeler. The accident took place on U.S. 23 in Northfield Township, Michigan, in the area of North Territorial Road, at around ten in the morning.
According to reports, a pickup truck was parked on the side of the road. The driver was inside the cab at the time, while the passenger was outside, gassing up the truck when he was hit.
The passenger was killed on impact, while the driver of the truck was hospitalized. No word yet on his current condition. The driver of the 18-wheeler was uninjured and is being interviewed by authorities.
Scene of the Accident
Commentary
There’s not a lot I can say in favor of the 18-wheeler right now. How important is it that these people driving these vehicles pay attention to the road? Especially if there are vehicles pulled onto the shoulder, and especially if there are people walking around those vehicles. If the 18-wheeler was driving on the side of the road where the truck was parked, I don’t think it’s unreasonable to assume that the driver would have been able to see it as he came down the road. And if the truck was parked on the shoulder, the 18-wheeler would have had to bleed into it to hit it like he did. So the question is, why wasn’t this avoided? Why wasn’t the driver of the 18-wheeler able to pass the truck without hitting these guys? Was he not paying attention to the road? Was he on his phone? In any case, there’s a lot he has to answer for.
