A truck accident involving a tractor-trailer truck is not like a common car accident. A truck cannot stop as quickly or maneuver nearly as well as a car can. Because of the greater number of cars a truck can impact and the destructive force of its large frame, the harm a truck can do in an accident is much greater than most other street accidents.

A 25-year-old Connecticut woman was killed during the rush hour commute after a head-on collision with a tractor-trailer truck. According to police, the woman was driving her 2013 Toyota RAV4 and collided with a man driving a 2009 Volvo tractor-trailer.

The woman died at the scene of injuries suffered in the car accident. The tractor-trailer driver was treated and released at a local hospital for minor injuries, police said.

An accident-reconstruction team, along with the Connecticut state police truck squad, were brought in to investigate the scene. Twenty-seven accidents from 2007 to 2011 happened in the area where the accident occurred, four of them fatal crashes. City officials and residents have pressed for more signs to caution drivers of the sharp curve in the road.

The road was closed for several hours in both directions to all traffic while the accident scene was investigated. Police are working to figure out the cause of the accident and who may have been at fault. The accident remains under investigation.

In truck accidents, drivers and passengers in the other vehicles usually suffer the worst, often catastrophic, injuries. They often must deal with them for the rest of their lives. Personal injury laws allow victims of accidents to receive damages for both material and emotional losses after an injury. Many times, truck accidents are so severe that the victim does not survive the crash. In this case, the family may bring a claim on behalf of their loved one to recover compensation for their losses. An experienced attorney can help family members recover economic, non-economic, and, in certain cases, punitive damages for the loss of their loved one.

Source:  New Haven Register, “25-year-old Seymour woman killed in accident on Route 34 in Derby” Jean Falbo-Sosnovich, Jul. 29, 2013