TIPPECANOE COUNTY, Ind. — Deputies responded to reports of a crash on Tuesday around 11:41 a.m. in the 4800 block of US Highway 52, where a man lost his life when his parked truck was struck by another vehicle.
A Ford F-150 pickup truck experiencing mechanical failure parked on the far-right edge of the roadway with a portion of the truck remaining on the road when a 2021 Jeep Grand Cherokee traveling north in the far-right lane struck the parked Ford pickup truck, propelling the truck into a nearby ditch and pinning the driver beneath it.
The Ford F-150 pickup driver, James Weldon of Lafayette, was pronounced dead at the scene.
The driver of the Jeep Grand Cherokee did not sustain any injuries.
No further details are currently available.
Thoughts on Ford Pickup and Jeep Cherokee Fatal Crash
A sad and complicated incident. At first glance, it is clear that the driver of the Jeep failed to avoid hitting the disabled truck. However, in fatal accidents like this one, the law wants to know all the factors that contributed to the crash. In this accident, that includes why the truck broke down. If the truck were not disabled, this crash wouldn’t have happened. Trained professionals will need to investigate whether the truck had undergone recent repairs. If so, and technicians improperly repaired the vehicle, the repair shop may have some blame for creating a dangerous situation that resulted in death.
Likewise, we have been seeing a number of cases where it appears a vehicle’s crash avoidance technology did not work as it should have. Newer vehicles are equipped with radars to warn motorists of stopped vehicles and help take evasive action to avoid a collision. It seems that this did not happen here. Was this Jeep equipped with this technology? And if so, did it work properly? Manufacturers cannot provide faulty safety equipment and escape liability when that equipment fails to do its job.
Following a fatal crash, the family of the deceased deserves an answer as to what caused the crash. I hope the information here may be brought to light.
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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.
