Posted On:
June 15, 2008
Semi Truck Accident Kills Sheriff's Deputy and Fireman
The driver of an 18 wheeler crashed into a sheriff's deputy and firefighter who were directing traffic in North Carolina, according to an article at www.ajc.com. Apparently, there was heavy fog and smoke at about 5:15 a.m. in the area on the highway where the fatal accident occurred. The semi truck driver, Robert Kornegay, was charged with two counts of misdemeanor death by vehicle and exceeding a safe speed.
This tragic semi truck accident occurred in similar circumstances to a semi truck accident that occurred just Southwest of Jacksonville and was discussed in this blog in March where a semi truck driver was driving unsafely in the heavy fog and caused a multi-vehicle accident with serious injuries. These accidents illustrate the point that when driving and visibility conditions are difficult, a semi truck driver needs to either pull off the road and delay his/her trip or drive extremely cautiously. If a semi truck driver chooses the latter option and continues driving knowing that the fog, smoke, rain or other condition is limiting his/her visibility, that driver needs to slow down to the point that he/she has sufficient visibility to completely and safely stop the semi truck in case of a sudden emergency such as the sudden appearance of a police officer in the road directing traffic.
If this semi truck driver was driving at an excessive and unsafe speed as he was charged, then he likely was driving in the fog and smoke at a speed that did not allow him to safely stop his semi truck when confronted with an emergency in the road. Regardless of the posted speed limit, a semi truck driver must be sure that he/she drives at a speed that allows him/her to stop the vehicle if there is an accident ahead, stopped traffic, someone or some thing in the road or any number of other occurrences that require a vehicle to stop quickly. In the lawsuit based on the semi truck accident that is sure to follow, the semi truck driver may argue that he was surprised by the sheriff's deputy and firefighter in the road directing traffic and did not have a chance to stop his vehicle. However, unless the smoke and fog just appeared suddenly when he first saw the deputy and firefighter, which is unlikely, those excuses should not carry much weight as the semi truck drive would have had plenty of notice of the poor visibility conditions and an opportunity to pull off the road or slow down considerably to a safe speed.
