Truck Accident Lawyer Blog

Here is a truck accident case that illustrates how dangerous rest areas can be.

In this instance, a truck driver illegally parked her rig along I-80 in Pennsylvania just before the exit ramp to a rest stop. When the driver got back in her rig, instead of going through the rest area and using the entrance ramp back onto the interstate, she drove diagonally across the exit ramp. Another tractor trailer driver, approaching from behind, was unable to avoid the first rig, and collided violently after trying to swerve left. The resulting collision burst the fuel tank on the approaching vehicle. The ensuing fire burned the second driver to death. His two children brought a wrongful death suit against the negligent driver of the first rig.

The defending driver claimed that she had her turn signal on and he should have been able to avoid a slow-moving truck. The jury disagreed, finding the exit-ramp cutting driver was entirely at fault. The jury awarded a total of $4 million: $900,000 for the children’s’ loss and $3.1 million for the driver’s injuries.