• 16
  • July
    2010

Two recent motor vehicle accidents involving large trucks clearly illustrate how large vehicles can cause devastating injuries when involved in collisions with other vehicles.

In Charlotte, a 23-year-old man was killed early Thursday when his car was rear-ended pushing him into an intersection where he was then struck by a tractor-trailer. Maurice McDowall died at the scene and the driver that originally rear-ended his car was hospitalized and charged with driving while impaired, felony death by motor vehicle and involuntary manslaughter.

At the time of the accident, the tractor-trailer was attempting to make a left hand turn and presumably was not traveling at a high rate of speed. However, the huge disparity in the size and weight of the tractor-trailer versus McDowall's car was likely a contributing factor in the seriousness of McDowall's injuries.

While there have been no allegations of negligence on the part of the truck driver, this incident still demonstrates the potential for massive injuries when a car and large semi or tractor trailer are involved in a crash.

A few days earlier, another accident involving a car and large truck, in this case a concrete mixer, left a young woman dead and her infant daughter in critical condition. Casey Lynn Campbell, of Hickory, died after colliding with a concrete mixer on Highway 127.

It was unclear what caused the accident, but witnesses say Campbell's car slowly crossed the center lane where it hit the truck head-on. Campbell later died from her injuries at Frye Regional Medical Center and, as of the last reports, her three-and-half month old baby remains there in critical condition. The driver of the concrete truck suffered only a few scrapes as a result of the accident.

Again, there is no indication at this point that the driver of the truck could have done anything to prevent the crash, but this incident demonstrates the awesome power of large trucks and the devastating injuries that can occur when they are involved in an accident with a passenger car.

Related Resources:

Crash kills teen (Hickory Daily Record)

Driver faces DWI charge after fatal wreck (Charlotte Observer)