Update [February 18, 2015]: The name of the driver who was in the SUV was identified as John Graham and it appears his children were the ones injured. A news report said that the 14-year old boy in the SUV, Jacob, was the most severely injured. One of the girls suffered broken legs and a partially collapsed lung, it said, and the other girl had her arm broken by the accident.
Rhome, TX — There was an accident this past Monday in Rhome that injured four people in an SUV, including two children and a teenager. Police said that a Ford SUV accidentally rear-ended an 18-wheeler truck along Highway 114 on Monday evening, February 16, 2015 at about 7:00 p.m.
According to the news reports, this happened just west of Rhome, along Highway 114. A Ford SUV driven by an adult and carrying a 14-year old, a 7-year old, and a 7-year old was headed along the highway when it crashed into the back of an 18-wheeler truck that was trying to make a right-hand turn.
The accident left the driver of the SUV and one of the children inside with serious injuries and they were both rushed to local hospitals. The teenager and other child in the SUV were also injured, but were in less-severe condition, police said.
The 18-wheeler’s driver apparently wasn’t harmed. Right now, it’s not clear why the SUV rear-ended the 18-wheeler truck.
Map of the Accident
View from the Road
Commentary:
I read a comment about this accident on a news site, where a man claimed that all accidents lead to (unwarranted) lawsuits and that rear-ending a car is always the victim’s fault. That’s a pointed statement, but it’s only partly true. First, not all accidents result in lawsuits, only the ones where people are being treated unfairly and have to take legal action to recover their losses.
Second, there are instances in which a rear-end accident can result in some fault for the other driver. At 7:00 in the evening, it’s pretty dark outside this time of year. Is it possible that the 18-wheeler’s rear lights weren’t working that night? It’s certainly possible that this SUV driver just wasn’t paying attention, but if the lights on the truck weren’t working, that’s one example of how a rear-end accident wouldn’t entirely be the victim’s fault. Before you make assumptions, it’s always best to have all the details. In this case, I don’t think anybody has a full enough understanding of what happened to be making comments like the one mentioned above.
— Grossman Law Offices
