ALTAMONT, Missouri—Two men, William Loucks, 50, and Marc Stuva, 63, were injured in a collision between a 1990 Oldsmobile van, a Peterbilt tractor-trailer, and a 2000 Oldsmobile Alero.
According to reports, the van turned onto Missouri State Route 6 when it collided with the tractor-trailer and then the Alero. The van and the Alero were totaled in the accident and removed from the scene.
Investigators are still determining the cause of the accident.
Loucks and Stuva suffered moderate injuries and were taken to Cameron Regional Hospital for treatment.
An investigation is ongoing. No further information was immediately available.
The injured men will need an independent investigation into the cause of the crash
We are grateful there were no fatalities in this accident, and we send our best wishes to Mr. Loucks and Mr. Stuva as they recover from their injuries. Any time a crash involves multiple vehicles, particularly one or more tractor-trailers, it is essential to have an independent legal investigation conducted in conjunction with any investigations done by state agencies or local law enforcement. These agencies operate under resource constraints and often fail to probe beyond the initial identified cause. Our firm’s investigative team works to find more than one cause, giving victims and their families multiple opportunities to seek legal recourse.
We do not know which vehicles Mr. Loucks or Mr. Stuva were in at the time of the accident, but we do know that both passenger vehicles were totaled and had to be removed from the scene. One factor we always want to investigate is the crashworthiness of the vehicles involved in an accident. There are strict regulations governing the safety features that must be present on vehicles for them to be considered “crashworthy,” or capable of protecting passengers in the event of a foreseeable crash. Safety belts, airbags, roof supports, and roll bars are all examples of these features. If an investigation finds that any of the vehicles containing passengers who were injured did not meet the relevant crashworthy standards, Mr. Loucks and/or Mr. Stuva may be able to recover against the vehicle manufacturer.
Crashworthiness is just one theory we may be able to seek legal relief. Once we have the official investigation results and have a clearer picture of who was driving or riding in what vehicle, we will be able to explore numerous other strategies. Whatever the cause, Mr. Loucks and Mr. Stuva deserve the opportunity to know what caused this crash and their injuries, as well as an opportunity to hold responsible any wrongdoers.
