El Paso, Illinois — A collision on southbound I-39 near El Paso resulted in the death of one person.
The incident unfolded late Wednesday afternoon when a pickup truck and a semi-truck were traveling southbound on I-39 near mile marker 13. Reports indicate that the pickup truck was in the process of passing the semi-truck, occupying the left lane, while the semi-truck was traveling in the right lane. The pickup truck made contact with the side of the semi-truck and veered off to the left, then shifted back to the right, moving directly in front of the semi-truck.
Both vehicles departed from the roadway due to the collision, with the pickup truck overturning before coming to a stop.
The Wisconsin man driving the pickup truck lost his life at the scene. The deceased man’s wife, who was also in the pickup truck, sustained non-life-threatening injuries. The driver of the semi-truck also sustained non-life-threatening injuries.
Thoughts on Accident with Semi and Pickup Trucks
Each year, large truck accidents kill thousands of people. In 2021, 4,714 people died in a large truck incident, with 68% of those killed being the occupants of other vehicles or passenger cars (Insurance Institute for Highway Safety). These are high numbers. To help reduce the occurrences of these deadly accidents, all parties at fault need to be held responsible.
It will be important to have this crash investigated. Many will likely assume the deceased driver is wholly at fault for hitting the semi-truck. However, there could be many things that happened leading up to the crash that were outside the control of the pickup driver. Perhaps the semi-driver would not let the truck back over as the window to pass the truck closed. Or perhaps something was in the roadway that caused the pickup driver to make a sudden lane change. An investigation is needed before it can be determined why this crash occurred.
What we do know is that a man is dead, a woman is injured, and a family will be left picking up the pieces. If there is any wrongdoing by other parties that led to the crash, the family deserves answers and justice for the death of their loved one.
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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.
