ST. LOUIS COUNTY, Mo. – Tragedy struck on Saturday evening when a Ballwin man lost his life in a car crash on Interstate 44. According to a crash report released by the Missouri State Highway Patrol, the incident occurred around 5:10 p.m. on westbound I-44 near the Lindbergh Boulevard exit.
The report states that the driver, operating a 1999 Ford Contour, was traveling in the left lane when he collided with the rear of a 2006 Ford F-550. The F-550 had been abandoned and was partially obstructing the lane at the time of the crash.
As a result of the collision, the driver sustained severe injuries and was immediately airlifted to a nearby hospital for medical treatment. Tragically, the passenger in the vehicle, identified as 31-year-old Thomas Brennecke, was pronounced dead at the crash site.
No further details have been provided regarding the incident at this time. The investigation into the crash is ongoing, and authorities will release additional information as it becomes available.
Leaving vehicles abandoned on the side of the road is unacceptable and leads to fatal crashes
I am deeply concerned that another life has been lost as a result of an abandoned vehicle. This accident scenario routinely plays out across the country, resulting in hundreds of deaths and injuries. Such behavior cannot continue without consequence, and those that abandon vehicles on the side of busy highways should be held accountable for their actions when they result in serious injury and death.
Our firm represents many clients across the country who have lost loved ones in crashes similar to this one. While the people that abandoned the vehicle try to blame the driver for crashing into a parked vehicle, such an argument does not dismiss the behavior of the drivers that leave their vehicles dangerously parked on busy roadways.
In one such case, a young father was killed when he crashed into the back of a dump truck parked on the roadway without warning devices activated. Additionally, the disabled driver failed to place warning triangles as required by law. Our client’s husband was killed, leaving behind a wife and a newborn child. We are doing all we can to ensure the wife and child receive the compensation they need to move forward after the sudden loss of a husband and father. By doing so, the trucking company will be more attentive to where they park trucks and make sure all available safety precautions are taken to avoid such an accident in the future.
In another tragic crash we are currently handling, a trucking company’s truck broke down. Instead of removing the truck from the side of a busy roadway, the company sent a new truck to carry the loaded trailer but left the actual truck abandoned on the roadside. A family soon crashed into the truck, killing multiple people inside the vehicle. We are helping the surviving family members recover the compensation they need to move forward, and by so doing, ensuring the trucking company exercises greater caution in the future.
These are just two examples of many where negligent companies and drivers leave abandoned vehicles on the side of roadways at the expense of the motoring public. The exact details of why this vehicle was left are still unclear, and further investigation is warranted. Nevertheless, one cannot simply point to the deceased driver and escape liability when if it were not for the disabled vehicle creating the danger the accident could have been avoided.
I offer my deepest condolences to those impacted by this crash during this difficult time of grief and loss.
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The Ammons Law Firm represents clients nationwide in catastrophic injury and wrongful death litigation, with extensive experience in complex auto/tire defect and commercial vehicle cases.
Disclaimer: This post is not legal advice. Information contained in this blog was compiled from third-party sources or is the opinion of the author. Please inform us immediately if false or misleading information is contained in this post.
