Last week a 78 year old Pennsylvania man was struck by a semi truck on the eastbound section of Interstate 70 in Ohio County. The man was trying to recover a seat that had blown off his boat while he was driving on I-70 close to the Dallas Pike exit when he was hit by the passing semi. The victim was taken to Ohio Valley Medical Center for treatment. He suffered injury to his hip but is expected to recover with rehabilitative therapy and continuous medical treatment. The Ohio County sheriff’s department is searching for the driver of the semi who now faces criminal charges for fleeing the scene of an accident that resulted in injury to an individual.
It is estimated that over two million people in the U.S. are injured as a result of motor vehicle accidents annually and over 40 thousand die in fatal motor vehicle accidents every year. Large trucks and busses are especially dangerous given their enormous size and weight. While large trucks and busses make up fewer accidents because of their considerable lesser numbers on the road, they are more likely to cause serious injury or death to anyone unlucky enough to be caught in an accident with one of these mammoth vehicles.
According to the 2007 Preliminary National Crash Facts published by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), in the U.S. there were 136,438 large trucks and 12,498 buses that were involved in non-fatal motor vehicle accidents. Out of those, 54,961 accidents that involved large trucks and 6,709 accidents that involved buses resulted in injuries to the occupants of the vehicles or pedestrians. The total number of people injured amounted to 80,752 from the accidents that involved large trucks and 15,297 people injured from accidents that involved busses.
The FMCSA also collected data on individual state statistics for accidents involving large truck and busses. The Pennsylvania 2007 Preliminary Crash Facts State Summary Report found that in the Keystone State there were 6,624 large trucks and 1,049 buses involved in non-fatal motor vehicle accidents. Out of those, there were 3,296 large trucks and 750 buses that were involved in injury accidents. Those accidents accounted for a total of 4,799 injuries to individuals in accidents that involved large trucks and 1,753 injuries to individuals in accidents that involved buses.
If you or a loved one has been involved in a motor vehicle accident with a large truck or bus the odds of being seriously injured or of a disabling injury are greatly increased. An injury of this magnitude can siphon away all the financial resources of a family leaving despair and doubt in its wake. Contact a personal injury lawyer that can save your family’s financial future. The personal injury attorneys at Lowenthal & Abrams can help you and your family through this difficult time.