Ross, ND — There was a major accident that involved two semi-trucks, an SUV, two pickup trucks, and a car left three people injured on Monday of last week. Tara Hiatt, 24, John Hayes, 40, and Timothy Eman, 61, were all injured after their vehicles were involved in a wreck on Highway 2, near Ross, ND.
This happened at about 6:30 a.m. in the morning, Monday, October 26, 2015.
Police said that Jose Lopez, 68, was driving his semi-truck along a side road and was trying to turn left onto Highway 2. However, it looks like he may have failed to yield to passing traffic because as he turned, his semi-truck was hit by Tara Hiatt’s Ford Explorer, then Timothy Eman’s Honda Civic.
After the initial wreck, John Hayes’ Chevy pickup truck crashed into the semi-truck as well.
Hiatt, Hayes, and Eman were all injured and taken to local hospitals, but it’s not clear how badly they were hurt. After the first set of wrecks, a second semi-truck came upon the scene and swerved off the side of Highway 2 to avoid hitting the cars. The second semi-truck then plowed into a parked F-250 pickup truck, sending it rolling.
Nobody was injured in that wreck.
Right now, it’s not clear if the truck driver of the first semi, Jose Lopez, will face any charges for this wreck.
Map of the Accident
Commentary:
I don’t want to start pointing fingers here because I don’t think we really have enough information to start making assumptions about what happened. However, I think we can all agree that this semi-truck driver needs to explain his actions, because it certainly seems like he pulled into traffic without yielding, causing the whole mess.
If that’s the case, then he and his trucking company might bear the liability for all the injuries and damaged vehicles here. Of course, that also means there will need to be some concrete proof as to what happened. We say this a lot at our firm, “It’s not about what you know happened, it’s about what you can prove to a jury.
What that means is simply that most folks don’t know how to present proof in court or even go about filing a civil claim against a trucking company, so they let the insurance companies handle things — bad idea. Insurance companies, especially ones that represent semi-truck drivers, are interested in protecting their finances and their bottom line, not paying out settlements on behalf of their negligent drivers. Since there’s no law requiring trucking companies to take responsibility for their drivers, it’s up to the plaintiff (or victim) to force them to do so.
Again, I don’t want to start jumping to conclusions here, because I still think there needs to be more proof. On the other hand, I see a lot of people ruin potential claims because they don’t know how the law works, so I post this information in case it’s helpful.
— Grossman Law Offices