Hico, TX — Earlier this month, there was a fiery truck accident in Hico that left two truck drivers injured. They were identified as Jensen Claus, 47, of Waco and Gary Hanneman, 27, of Bryan.
The accident happened on Thursday morning, November 5, 2015, along Highway 6 in Hico’s downtown area.
Police said that Gary Hanneman was driving his Kenworth 18-wheeler west along Highway 6 that morning when he lost control for unknown reasons and swerved into oncoming traffic, where he collided head-on with Jensen Claus’s 18-wheeler.
The accident forced one of the vehicles off the road and into a Sonic drive-thru parking lot. One of the semis caught fire (it’s not clear which one) and both truckers were taken to hospitals for their injuries.
It looks like Claus was airlifted to a Temple hospital, which may have meant that his injuries were more serious, while Hanneman was taken via ambulance to another hospital.
Map of Hico, Texas
Why 18-Wheelers Catch Fire
Outdated design spells danger for far too many truckers...Read More >
Commentary:
Aside from what appears to be the cause of this accident — that is, this trucker losing control and going into oncoming traffic — the fact that one of the semi-trucks here caught fire is a little bit troubling.
First, let me just clarify any confusion on the matter by saying that truckers have the same rights as anyone else on the road. If a truck driver is hurt while “on the job” due to a traffic accident, he has all the same rights as a regular motorist would — including filing a negligence-based claim in civil court. Obviously, an injured trucker might have access to workers’ compensation benefits through his employer, but that’s a separate matter.
But secondly, and more importantly, semi-trucks are not supposed to catch fire, and the fact that one of them did may be indicative of some deeper problems. The article I’ve linked to above discusses this in greater detail, but my point is basically that manufacturers of commercial-grade trucks owe their customers (truck drivers) a duty to provide a reasonably safe vehicle.
So what does “reasonable” mean? Well, sometimes a truck will catch fire from the sheer brute force of an impact and sometimes there’s nothing that can prevent that. For example, a truck that rams a concrete pillar at 70 mph will probably catch fire and that’s not indicative of a defect in the truck’s design, it’s simply what happens.
However, sometimes trucks catch fire because they’re improperly designed or the fuel tank was put in a vulnerable spot that places the trucker in undue danger in the event of a collision.
I don’t really know if that’s the case here, but it’s something that truckers need to be aware of, because if their truck has an inferior or dangerous design, then the manufacturer might be liable. Clearly, a solid investigation is what’s needed, so I’d be curious to see the results of this accident investigation, if there even is one.
— Grossman Law Offices
