McCREARY COUNTY, Kentucky—Tyler Chitwood, 24, was killed on August 17, 2022, after his motorcycle collided with a semi-truck around 1:15 p.m. The crash occurred along Highway 92 at the intersection of Oscar Bell Road.
According to initial reports, Chitwood was traveling westbound on a motorcycle when he attempted to pass a semi-truck. The semi-truck attempted to turn onto Oscar Bell Road, and the two vehicles collided.
As a result of the crash, Chitwood sustained fatal injuries. No further information was immediately available.
Thoughts on the fatal motorcycle-truck accident in McCreary County
Motorcyclists often get a bad reputation for being reckless on the road. However, this accident may not have occurred as a result of Chitwood’s decision to pass the semi-truck. In fact, investigators should remain open-minded as to the possible explanations of causation for this accident.
First, the truck driver may not have been paying attention to his/her surroundings before making the turn onto Oscar Bell Road. This kind of negligence is inexcusable and should not be tolerated. All drivers, including semi-truck drivers, are required to follow the law and remain vigilant as to their surroundings when making a left-hand turn. On the other hand, the semi-truck driver may not have been trained to take all surroundings into account before making a turn in a big rig.
Trucking companies are responsible for ensuring their truck drivers get the education they need to travel safely. To that end, truck drivers must receive education on precautions to take while on the road, especially awareness training regarding where to look for small vehicles, motorcycles, bicycles, and pedestrians. Without such training, truck drivers are often unaware of their inability to see motorcycles near their vehicle. If this truck driver was employed by a company that did not provide training to its drivers about the consequences of failing to see a smaller vehicle on the road, then the trucking company may share in the liability for Chitwood’s untimely death.
Although I am not saying the driver of the semi-truck or the driver’s employer is entirely responsible for the outcome of this crash, many fatalities in situations involving semi-trucks are a direct result of negligence. Had negligence not been a factor in this scenario, Chitwood may have escaped with his life.
It is likely Chitwood’s family will need to hire a skilled attorney, experienced in crashes involving large trucks, to get to the bottom of what really happened in the moments leading up to the crash. Our firm’s comprehensive legal strategy would aim to explore all options of remedy for those impacted by this accident. Should any wrongdoing be revealed here, we would encourage the victim’s family to retain experienced counsel immediately.
As this investigation continues, our thoughts and prayers go out to those affected by this crash.
