Decatur, TX — A woman from Decatur was badly injured this past Tuesday (November 4, 2014) after her car was in an accident with an 18-wheeler. This happened just south of Decatur on U.S. 287 and the injured woman was later identified as Yanete Ramirez-Merchado, 31 years old.
Police said that Ramirez-Merchado was driving along U.S. 287 this past Tuesday at about 2:30 p.m. in the afternoon when she lost control of her blue car.
The car swerved off the road and crashed into a sign, which caused her to hydroplane on some standing water and spin into the median. It was there that Ramirez-Merchado’s car crashed into an 18-wheeler that was apparently parked in the median.
Her car sustained major injuries and she was taken to a hospital for a head injury. At the last update, she was still in intensive care at JPS.
So far, it’s not clear Ramirez-Merchado lost control of her car that afternoon, but this is being investigated some more.
Scene of the Accident
Commentary:
Before everyone starts accusing this woman of causing her own accident, let’s take a careful look at the situation. I’d like to re-focus our view to where the 18-wheeler truck was parked. If it was really parked in the median, like the news reports are saying, then I have to wonder if there wasn’t a better place to park. Was it disabled? Was the driver simply resting?
Right now, we’re handling a case out of the San Antonio area where an 18-wheeler decided to park on the shoulder (read: emergency lane) of a busy highway. An accident occurred and a driver was forced off the road, only to hit the back of this parked truck. As it turned out, the driver had simply gotten hungry and wanted to make a sandwich and use the restroom.
My point here is that this woman might have lost control of her car, but if the 18-wheeler hadn’t been parked in the median like that, I’m guessing this accident would have been a lot less severe. If I were investigating this accident, that’s the first place I’d start.
— Grossman Law Offices
