GERBER, CA — One truck driver was killed in a single-vehicle accident in Gerber, California on Thursday, May 8th, 2014, according to a news report from KRCR.
California Highway Patrol officials believe 42-year-old Troy Hartman was killed when the Sierra Pacific dump truck he was driving left the roadway and collided with a wooded patch and a culvert while driving on Highway 99W just before 3:00 in the afternoon Thursday.
Scene of the Accident
Troy Hartman was killed in the crash. He was alone in the truck at the time of the accident, and no other injuries were mentioned in the report.
Officials from both Tehama County and the California Highway Patrol are helping out with the crash investigation.
Commentary:
If this commercial vehicle turns out to be part of a much larger fleet, there is a good chance that the necessary repairs and upkeep of this vehicle got lost in the herd of the hundreds or even thousands of trucks that are part of the company’s trucks. I’ve seen a case where the fleet was so large, that a truck was confused with another vehicle, and the necessary repairs for one truck were made unnecessarily to another one, which eventually led to an accident. What makes me so sure that this was a mechanical error? Well, I don’t have all the facts, but whenever I see a truck leave the road and continue through several objects, I can’t help but to wonder if a steering column locked up or an accelerator stuck. If this turns out to be the case, the trucking company should be held responsible for their vehicle, no different than you would be if you neglected your vehicle and caused an accident.
–Grossman Law Offices
