Dawes, WV — A woman was hospitalized following an accident with a coal truck in Dawes, West Virginia, on Friday, September 5, 2014. The accident took place on Cabin Creek Road, around 12:30 in the afternoon.
According to reports, the woman was traveling Cabin Creek when a coal truck crossed the center line in an attempt to avoid a rear-end collision with another vehicle. Rather, the truck crashed head on into the woman, whose name was not immediately released.
The crash caused the woman to become trapped inside her vehicle and emergency workers were called in to help extricate her. Also inside the vehicle were two children. Along with the woman, they were both taken to Charleston Area Medical Center. There’s been no update on their conditions.
Scene of the Accident
Commentary
There are a few things we need to look at here. The first is the hypothetical accident the coal truck would have been involved in had the driver not swerved. News reports say it would have been a rear-end collision. Why is this? Is it because the driver ahead of the truck came to an abrupt stop? Or is it because the driver of the coal truck wasn’t paying enough attention to the road in front of him and almost crashed? In any case, the driver of the coal truck is going to be held liable. In the first case, he either wasn’t paying attention to the road or was following too closely to the vehicle in front of him. In the second case, well, he crashed into the van. Every driver has an obligation to do whatever they can to avoid accidents out on the road. Investigators will need to see exactly what the truck driver was doing before swerving to see if his actions were in any way justified. Even if they were, he’ll still be responsible for the wreck with the van. Right now it’s more a question of how liable is he, rather than whether he’s liable or not.
— Grossman Law Offices
