Update [February 13, 2015]: The boy and his mother apparently did have a green light to cross during the accident, according to the news reports. It’s not clear if that puts the dump truck driver at fault, but it is grounds for investigation. The boy’s name was later released as Ashiqur Rahman.
Albany, NY — A four-year old child was killed when he was hit by a dump truck in Albany, New York, on Thursday, February 12, 2015. The accident happened at the intersection of Central Avenue and Quail Street.
According to local reports, a mother and her four-year old son were crossing the Central Avenue and were nearly to the other side of the street when the accident occurred. Police say that this is backed up by surveillance footage of the area.
The boy was rushed to Albany Medical Center where he was pronounced dead. His name has not been released, although reports have said that he was a student at Philip J. Schuyler Achievement Academy.
The dump truck’s owners, ICS Waste and Recycling, are maintaining that the boy jumped out into the road over a snowbank and that their driver, Jim, had no time to react to the accident. Again, this is not backed up by surveillance footage.
Police are continuing to investigate the accident.
Scene of the Accident
Commentary
I’m just going to assume that everything the news has reported on this is accurate. I can’t explain how angry it makes me that the trucking company responsible for this accident would immediately put out a statement laying blame for the accident at the victim’s feet. It makes me angry, but it doesn’t surprise me in the least. This is what these trucking companies are known for. Whenever there’s an accident, they do whatever they can to push liability onto someone else. And why do they do it? Usually, it’s about money. Commercial vehicles are required to carry quite a bit of insurance, so being found at-fault for an accident like this is can cut into their bottom line, as well as affect their ability to do business in the future. When looked at through that lens, they have to fight it.
Proving an accident like this takes proof. Right now, the victims have video of the accident itself. But there’s more than that to be found. Many commercial vehicles carry what’s known as an Electronic Control Module, which works much like a black box and records information about what the truck was doing in the seconds leading up a crash. Getting a hold of that information is key. It’s key because when these things happen, a trucking company has to be held responsible for it. I understand that this is where people start dropping out of the conversation. Talk turns to lawsuits and money, and people are very understandably uncomfortable talking about such things in the light of such tragedy. But anyone thinking that this was all about money would be making a mistake. Compensation is part of this process, yes, but another part of this process is taking the trucking and putting them under a microscope. If the trucking company promotes a culture of carelessness that would lead to an accident like this, that can be examined, and changes could be made. Holding a trucking company responsible for an accident like this is about helping the victims, yes, but it’s also about doing something to make sure that accidents like this don’t happen to someone else further down the line.
— Grossman Law Offices
