Sutton, MA — A man was traveling along Dudley Road in Sutton, Massachusetts, when he crashed into a forklift that was being used to unload steel beams at a private residence on Monday, December 15, 2014.
One of the beams tore through the driver’s side of the vehicle. Miraculously, the driver wasn’t killed. The beam went on to tear through a utility pole, making it necessary for a crew to come out and make repairs.
The driver, who has not been identified, sustained unspecified injuries. Police say he was traveling around 45 mph.
The police are continuing to investigate the accident. No other injuries were reported.
Scene of the Accident
Commentary
Liability in accidents like this often come down to small details. Reports say the driver was traveling a long the road when the accident happened. Is it possible that the forklift was illegally parked? I think that deserves to be examined a little more closely. Why was the forklift — and the steel beams it was hauling — sticking out into the street in the first place. You need a special license to operate one of those. I don’t know exactly how things are handled in Massachusetts, but in Texas, a forklift isn’t something you can go down to Home Depot and rent. Was the driver fully aware of what he was doing? Did he think it was a good idea? Did he have a license to operate the machine? Hopefully police will be able to provide some answers in the next few days, because the operator here may have some hard questions to answer.
— Grossman Law Offices
