WAPATO, WA — Wesley Smith was hurt in an accident between a tractor-trailer and loose livestock on Saturday, November 1st, 2014. The article from The McDowell News said that the accident happened at about 3:15 Saturday morning.
51-year-old Wesley Smith was hurt when the tractor-trailer he was driving struck two cows that were roaming on Highway 97. Authorities said the truck tried to avoid hitting the livestock, but struck two before driving up an embankment where the fuel tank was ruptured.
Smith was taken by EMS tyo Yakima Valley Memorial Hospital for the injuries he sustained in the accident.
The investigation into the accident is being handled by the Washington State Patrol.
Scene of the Accident
Commentary:
This is one of those accidents where some seemingly innocuous details weigh considerably on who will take responsibility for the accident. The first place I’d start looking would be the owner of the livestock that was wandering freely on the road where the accident took place. If the owner of the livestock failed to keep these large and potentially dangerous animals penned up properly, their owner could be faulted for the accident. I’ve seen numerous situations where loose cattle caused a crash, and because the owner had fences that had fallen and the cows escaped onto the roadway, the owner of the cattle was found liable for the accident.
On the other hand, the news report said that the gas tank on the tractor-trailer was ruptured in the accident. You don’t see many gas tank ruptures on passenger cars because the gas tanks are built on the interior of the vehicle. With tractor-trailers for some reason, the gas tanks are mounted on the exterior of the truck. Because of this, they are exposed direct impacts on the road. If the fire was the source of the truck driver’s injuries, then the manufacturer of the truck could be faulted for their dangerous product design. In any case, this is one accident that needs some further investigation, and when victims have their own third party conduct an investigation, they usually find details that police and highway patrol miss in the chaos following an accident.
— Grossman Law Offices
