Hodgen, OK — A truck driver from Mena, Arkansas was badly injured on Wednesday of this past week after his semi-truck lost its brakes and got into an accident. It happened in rural Hodgen on U.S. 259 and the driver who was injured was identified as Wendell Barnes, 42 years old.
Barnes was driving his semi-truck north along U.S. 259 this past Wednesday morning around 10:15 a.m. when he came upon a pickup truck that was stopped in the roadway.
A flagman was waving for Barnes’ attention, but when Barnes went to apply his brakes, they didn’t work and he had to swerve off the roadway to avoid hitting the worker and the pickup truck.
His semi-truck clipped the back of the pickup truck and Barnes drove off the highway, where his semi hit some trees and overturned. Wendell Barnes had to be extricated from his cab and he was flown to a hospital in Tulsa.
At the last update, he was in serious condition due to his severe injuries. The construction worker was not harmed by the accident.
The news claims that Wendell Barnes’ semi-truck lost its brakes during the accident, but that is still being investigated.
Map of the Accident
View from the Road
Commentary:
Failing brakes are not just an urban legend or a myth, but I understand why some people would be hesitant to accept it as an excuse for a major accident. In this situation, though, a semi-truck driver was in danger because his own truck wasn’t road-worthy (assuming the brakes really did fail). So, is that the driver’s fault? Usually, no. Whoever owns the truck is responsible for maintaining it and making sure that it’s in good working condition — including the brakes.
I don’t really know what happened here, but I would guess that if the brakes went out, it’s either because the truck was under-maintained or it had defective brakes. The manufacturer of the brakes would obviously have to answer for any kind of defect or malfunction, but the company that owned this truck might also have to account for the truck’s service history and any known mechanical issues.
A lot of people would be comfortable assuming this truck driver is at fault for his own accident, but I don’t think that’s a fair assessment, especially with so few facts to go on.
— Grossman Law Offices
