SALT LAKE COUNTY, Utah- A boy under ten has passed away from injuries sustained in a multi-vehicle accident on I-215 near 500 East in Midvale, Utah.
Authorities report that the driver of a vehicle hauler failed to notice stopped traffic on the roadway, was unable to slow down, and ultimately crashed into the stopped vehicles.
The mother and sisters of the boy were transported to area hospitals with critical injuries. The young boy was pronounced dead at the scene of the accident. A total of nine people were injured in the crash.
The exact cause of the driver’s actions was not immediately available. An investigation into the accident is ongoing.
No additional information was immediately available.
The victims of this accident will need to hold the driver and the company responsible for their actions
The availability of justice in such an accident will always come up short. The loss of a child is the most tragic event in a parent’s life, and the law simply can’t do anything to remedy the situation. The only power the law has is to hold the wrongdoers responsible, recover compensation for the pain and suffering caused by the crash, and hope such behavior is changed in the future.
When an accident is caused by a commercial truck driver, we must focus on the behavior of the trucker and the trucking company. Employers really are the first line of defense for safe driving. A company that values safety above profits will hire safe drivers, enact safety training, and enforce on-the-road safety rules. While we do not know what the employer did or did not do in this case, it is clear the driver of the truck was distracted at the time of the crash; whether that was a phone, radio, food, or something else remains to be seen. However, suppose this truck had been equipped with a front-facing camera that monitored the driver’s actions and that repeated evidence of distracted driving was punished by termination. Under these conditions, would the driver be more attentive to the road? Likely so, and given the facts of this accident, I would venture to guess that this truck was not equipped with a front-facing camera, and no termination policy for distracted driving was enacted.
A young boy lost his life, and multiple people were injured in this accident. The families affected deserve answers, and the parties responsible for the crash must be held accountable. Our firm is very good at identifying and holding the appropriate parties responsible for their actions.