On Friday June 24, 2011 a semi-truck operated by John Davis Trucking Company, Inc. out of Battle Mountain, Nevada ran through a railroad crossing outside of Reno, Nevada and into an Amtrak passenger train leaving six people dead and five passengers unaccounted for.
According to an Associated Press report, the crossing gates and blinking lights should have been visible a half-mile away. However tire skid marks at the scene, purportedly from the semi-truck, were less than 300 feet away from the crossing which has led authorities to investigate whether driver distraction or mechanical failure may be to blame for this tragedy. Both of these possibilities seem to be plausible based on the truck driver's record and the trucking company's history. More specifically, the trucker's driving record includes three speeding tickets while driving a commercial vehicle, one ticket for driving while talking on a cell phone, and the trucking company has been cited by the Nevada Department of Public Safety numerous times for crashes, unsafe driving, and for operating a truck with tire treads so exposed it had to be taken off the road.
As state and federal authorities continue their investigation they will undoubtedly try to extract data from the semi-truck's "black box," as well as from other electronic data that is stored on the truck's equipment. This electronic data can often reveal the speed of the truck prior to the crash, the braking time before impact, and whether or not the driver was using a cell phone or other electronic communication device. If you or a loved one are ever injured by a semi-truck it will be imperative to gather this same type of evidence, and if you should chose to hire a personal injury trial lawyer to help you do this make sure to ask the attorney if they have experience in retrieving this type of information.
According to an Associated Press report, the crossing gates and blinking lights should have been visible a half-mile away. However tire skid marks at the scene, purportedly from the semi-truck, were less than 300 feet away from the crossing which has led authorities to investigate whether driver distraction or mechanical failure may be to blame for this tragedy. Both of these possibilities seem to be plausible based on the truck driver's record and the trucking company's history. More specifically, the trucker's driving record includes three speeding tickets while driving a commercial vehicle, one ticket for driving while talking on a cell phone, and the trucking company has been cited by the Nevada Department of Public Safety numerous times for crashes, unsafe driving, and for operating a truck with tire treads so exposed it had to be taken off the road.
As state and federal authorities continue their investigation they will undoubtedly try to extract data from the semi-truck's "black box," as well as from other electronic data that is stored on the truck's equipment. This electronic data can often reveal the speed of the truck prior to the crash, the braking time before impact, and whether or not the driver was using a cell phone or other electronic communication device. If you or a loved one are ever injured by a semi-truck it will be imperative to gather this same type of evidence, and if you should chose to hire a personal injury trial lawyer to help you do this make sure to ask the attorney if they have experience in retrieving this type of information.
