New Haven, CT — One woman was killed and another sent to the hospital after an accident involving two 18-wheelers in New Haven, Connecticut, on Wednesday, August 27, 2014. The accident took place on Interstate 95.
According to local reports, Gwendolyn Buskey was taking her friend Vera Mercer to the hospital to deliver her baby when her vehicle was struck from behind by an 18-wheeler being driven by Fidel Rodriguez. His truck is owned by Capital Alliance Corp., a Michigan company. The collision pushed Buskey’s vehicle into a second 18-wheeler, which had stopped for traffic caused by construction further up the road.
Buskey was killed in the accident. Emergency workers were able to remove Mercer from the wreckage and transport her to the hospital where she delivered her child, who was unharmed. Mercer continues to make progress and is expected to make a full recovery.
Police are still investigating the accident, and have said that it’s possible charges will be brought against the driver once that is concluded.
Approximate Scene of the Accident
Commentary
This accident is incredibly tragic, yet almost miraculous, all at the same time. Tragic in that a woman was killed because of the inattention of the truck driver. Miraculous in that the driver’s friend and her baby survived the accident.
I think it’s a safe bet to say that the trucking company is going to bear some of the liability in this accident. And I say “some” because these companies have very good lawyers. Unfortunately, should they choose to defend the case, and they will, they’re going to be on very shaky ground. The truth of the matter is, this accident could have been easily prevented. Had the driver been watching the road, he would have seen that traffic was coming to a stop, he would have been able to stop himself, and the accident could have been avoided. Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case, which opens up a whole slew of questions we’ll have to ask. Why wasn’t he paying attention to the road? What was he paying attention to? Why did he think this was acceptable? And so on…
Hopefully the trucking company is able to do right by the victims here. Because from what we’re being presented with, none of this would have happened had the driver been doing what’s arguably to most important part of his job: paying attention to the road.
— Grossman Law Offices
