Spokane Valley, WA — Two people were hospitalized following an accident between a dump truck and a pickup in Spokane Valley, Washington, on Thursday, March 19, 2015. The accident happened on Trent Avenue, near Harvard Road.
According to local reports, 37-year old Gerardo Rodriguez was driving a pickup truck along Trent when he crossed the road’s center line and crashed into a dump truck being driven by 60-year old Shannon Coberly.
Rodriguez was taken to a local hospital by medical helicopter. Emergency workers had to extricate Coberly from the delivery truck before he was transported to the hospital. Information on the extent of their injuries was not available.
The accident is being investigated. What caused the crash is not clear.
Scene of the Accident
View from the Road
Commentary
What happens when you get into an accident? You exchange insurance information, and if you’re responsible for the crash, then theorectically, your insurance policy will cover it. However, there are times in which an insurance policy isn’t big enough to cover the amount of damage a driver has caused. In those cases — especially ones like this, in which the victim was on the job and driving a commercial vehicle — it’s worth looking to see if the employer carriers a UIM policy. UIM stands for uninsured motorist, and this is a policy that many businesses purchase and use only when they’re involved in an accident that someone else has caused and their insurance won’t cover all of the damage.
Again, not all businesses carry this, but many do. Unfortunately, this isn’t something that will kick in automatically if the at-fault party isn’t carrying adequate insurance. Someone, typically the victim of the accident, has to verify that their employer actually has it. So there’s some work involved, but in a big accident, it can be a lifesaver.
— Grossman Law Offices