Justin Mullikin Killed in Accident with Semi-truck that Failed to Stop on Plymouth Road in Greene County, Ohio

GREENE COUNTY, Ohio — A man was killed Monday afternoon in a collision between a semi-truck and a pickup in Silvercreek Township.

According to the Ohio State Highway Patrol, a semi hauling grain was traveling west on Plymouth Road when the driver failed to yield at a stop sign at the intersection with State Route 72. The semi was struck by a pickup truck driven by 36-year-old Justin Mullikin of Jamestown.

Mullikin was pronounced dead at the scene.

Failure to Yield: Holding Truck Drivers Accountable After Deadly Intersection Crashes

Traffic signs are there for a reason: to prevent accidents like this one. Mr. Mullikin should be alive today, but instead, his family is left mourning and trying to make sense of how they lost their loved one in an instant.

In the blur that follows a tragedy like this, grief turns to anger, and anger turns to questions. The surviving family will want answers — and they should have them.

They will want answers to questions like: What caused a semi-truck driver to disregard a stop sign? Did the driver have a history of unsafe driving? Were there warning signs the company ignored?  What can be done now to ensure everyone responsible is held accountable?

The answers to those questions will often reveal more than one failure. They may point to problems in training, maintenance, or oversight—problems that should have been corrected long before anyone was fatally hurt. We know this from decades of experience handling similar cases, helping others walk the same difficult path as this family here.

In one case we handled in South Carolina, a commercial truck driver ran a stop sign at a busy intersection, crashing into another vehicle and leaving a family forever changed. That crash, like so many others, was entirely preventable. The driver failed to yield the right of way and ignored basic traffic laws. The trucking company, in turn, failed to properly hire, train, and supervise its driver, entrusting a massive commercial vehicle to someone unfit to operate it safely. We pursued justice for that family to help bring accountability and to make sure no other family suffers the same preventable loss.

The surviving family of Mr. Mullikin deserves the same level of accountability from those whose choices cost them their loved one. We hope they find the truth and the justice they deserve.

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The Ammons Law Firm represents clients nationwide in auto and truck accidents that result in serious injury or death.

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.