Shelby, OH — Early Wednesday morning of this week, December 31, 2014, a man from Clyde was badly injured after an 18-wheeler ran a stop sign and caused an accident. The victim has since been identified as 44-year old Pete Griggs.
This happened just outside Shelby, along Shelby-Ganges Road at the intersection with Plymouth Springmill Road. Griggs was driving his Jeep along Plymouth Springhill, headed south, that morning around 6:30 a.m. Meanwhile, an 18-wheler truck driver by 39-year old Jiang Xinyong was headed west on Shelby Ganges.
Allegedly, Mr. Xinyong disregarded his stop sign at Shelby-Ganges and Plymouth Springhill and pulled in front of Griggs’ passing Jeep.
The two vehicles collided, police said, which let Griggs injured badly enough that he needed a medical helicopter to transport him a hospital. The truck driver, Xinyong, was not harmed.
So far, it appears that charges might be filed against Mr. Xinyong, but the details haven’t been confirmed yet.
Intersection of the Accident
Commentary:
I’m wondering why this truck driver ran the stop sign that morning, because the roads weren’t slick or icy and I didn’t see anything else that would make that intersection stick out in any way. In fact, visibility in all directions appears to be at a premium, which makes me suspicious that – since this was so far out of town – the truck driver might’ve just thought it would be okay to roll just this one stop sign.
But, of course, I would be interested in knowing more about the truck driver and his background. Does he have other accidents like this on his record? Is he properly trained and licensed to be in a commercial truck?
If you look at the small picture above, you can make out a USDOT number on the truck, which I used to track down some information. Now, perhaps I misread the numbers and I’m looking at a different company, but this appears to be a truck owned by a small transport company out of Nevada. They only have 20 trucks, it appears, but 25% of them have been out of commission in this past 2 years due to failed inspections. I’m not trying to make any accusations here, but the national average for out-of-service trucks is only about 20%. For such a small company, that’s not good news. Furthermore, it appears that company has gone through multiple insurance providers in the past several years.
Now, if I’ve misread the numbers and the truck in this accident is owned by an entirely different company, then so be it. You might be asking why would I call attention this level of detail.
The answer is simple. Trucking companies sometimes hire drivers who get into accidents — big and small. Thankfully, this was a relatively small accident, though it resulted in some pretty major damage. For some trucking companies, this happens a lot and they’re not exactly keen on the idea of opening up their wallets every time their drivers get into accidents. So, they fight back and look for ways to blame the accident on something (or someone) else. When that happens, it’s the accident victims who end up paying the price.
But, if you do your research and understand what kind of company you’re dealing with in an accident scenario like this one, you’re ultimately in a better position to hold the company responsible for their actions.
I’m not saying that this trucking company will deny their driver’s fault in this wreck and try to shirk their responsibility — they might be the best group of people around who are more than happy to make things right. But, I’m telling you, I’ve been in this industry for a long time, and I’ve never see a trucking company just pay out on a claim without contesting it. The best defense is a good offense, and that comes with lots of preparation and research.
— Grossman Law Offices
