Artesia, NM — A man was hospitalized on Thursday, January 15, 2015, following an accident with a United Drilling semi-truck in Artesia, New Mexico. The accident happened at the intersection of 4 Dinkus Road and US 285, around 6:30 in the morning.
Reports say that the driver of the semi-truck later told officials that he felt that he could make it across the highway ahead of a Chevrolet Lumina, which was headed toward him. The drive drove across the road, and the Lumina skidded and crashed into its trailer.
The impact wedged the car beneath the truck’s trailer, and was dragged a short distance before the truck came to a stop.
The driver of the Lumina sustained heavy injuries and was taken to a hospital in Lubbock, Texas. There’s been no update on his current condition. The names of those involved have not been released. Police are continuing to investigate the crash.
Scene of the Accident
Commentary
Oil drilling is obviously a big business in the south. It makes a lot of money, and unfortunately that success has created a more dangerous environment for drivers. Companies all over the south will be in need of equipment, and they’ll put the call out to drivers saying that this part needs to be delivered, usually as quickly as possible. So you’ll have these drivers out on the road delivering parts, and they’re rushing rushing rushing, and what you end up with is a lot of traffic accidents. This truck belongs to United Drilling, which doesn’t necessarily mean that it was hauling something to an oil rig, but I think there’s at least a chance that something like this was going on here.
In any case, the driver showed some bad judgement by not letting the victim cross the highway before trying to cross himself. Telling yourself that you can beat the other car — especially when driving an 80,000-pound vehicle that is absolutely incapable of stopping on a dime, and will never do 0-60 in five seconds — is just asking for trouble, and shows a disregard for how much power he was driving on top of. It’s reckless, and he should be held accountable for it.
— Grossman Law Offices
