Swisher, Iowa – Jaeson Ross is hospitalized following a collision involving two tractor-trailer trucks in Swisher on Wednesday, September 16th, 2015. The accident happened around 8:15 am.
69-year-old Gonzalez was attempting to drive his truck from the shoulder back onto the traveled portion of northbound Interstate 380, near the Swisher exit when the accident happened. Another tractor-trailer, driven by 35-year-old Jaeson Ross, then struck the rear of the first truck.
Ross was taken to the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics in Iowa City with serious injuries from the crash.
Gonzalez was not reported to be injured in the collision.
The accident remains under investigation by the Iowa State Patrol. There’s been no mention of excessive speed or distracted driving in association with this accident.
Area Near the Accident
Commentary:
It sounds like there are a few things that need to be clarified here. Did the first truck fail to yield the right-of-way to oncoming traffic or fail to use blinkers? Did the second truck fail to drive defensively?
If the truck attempting to merge back out into traffic simply pulled out into an occupied lane, clearly that’s a problem. Additionally, vehicles would need to be informed that the truck planned to move from the shoulder. That would happen if the proper usage of the truck’s blinkers was followed. If both of these things happened and he was still struck, that leads me to my next question.
If the second truck failed to observe the first pulling out onto the road and struck it, that’s something to be investigated. If the first vehicle pulled out in front of him leaving him no option to be veer off the road or crash, that’s something else.
Truck drivers are paid to operate commercial vehicles. They are essentially professional drivers. As such, they are bound by the rules of the roadway much as we are. But if a driver operating an 18-wheeler is distracted behind the wheel or traveling at an excessive speed and strikes another vehicle, the consequences are much more severe.
Of course, I’m not saying that any of this is what happened. There’s really not a lot of information to go on so far. So I’m just guessing and asking the same kinds of questions I would hope investigators would when they look into the accident.
— Grossman Law Offices
