| A number of recent accidents involving big trucks | | | | determine a probable cause, according to NTSB |
| have spotlighted the dangers auto drivers face when | | | | vice-chairman Christopher Hart. |
| sharing the road with the 30-ton behemoths. | | | | Another fatal truck accident this month happened |
| A tragic crash in Kentucky last week claimed 11 lives, | | | | even closer to Nashville. An emergency room nurse |
| the deadliest two-vehicle highway crash in the state | | | | was killed in the early morning of March 15 after her |
| since 1988. | | | | car hit the trailer from a semi-truck. |
| Earlier this month in Hendersonville, an emergency | | | | The accident in Hendersonville was triggered when a |
| room nurse returning home following her shift died | | | | large empty trash container fell off the truck, |
| after she hit a trailer that had detached from a big | | | | operated by Allied Waste Services. The truck also |
| rig. | | | | lost its trailer and a Honda Prelude hit it, driven by |
| And a sensational video posted on YouTube earlier | | | | Freeda J. Simmons from Gallatin. |
| this year shows a small car in England trapped on the | | | | Ms. Simmons, 50, was taken to Vanderbilt University |
| front of a big truck that pushed it at high speed | | | | Medical Center where she later died. Ms. Simmons had |
| down the highway. | | | | been returning home after her shift in the Vanderbilt |
| One out of nine U.S. traffic fatalities in 2008 (the | | | | emergency room. |
| latest year with available data) resulted from a | | | | The Tennessee Highway Patrol is investigating the |
| collision involving a large truck, according to the | | | | incident, including whether the trash container was |
| National Highway Transportation Safety | | | | properly secured to the trailer. |
| Administration. Of the fatalities that resulted from | | | | More than half a million people have watched a cell |
| crashes involving large trucks, 74 percent were | | | | phone video on YouTube that shows Rona Williams in |
| occupants of another vehicle, 10 percent were | | | | her Renault Clio being pushed sideways at 60mph |
| non-occupants, and 16 percent were occupants of a | | | | down a busy highway by a tanker truck. |
| large truck. | | | | Ms. Williams, a 31-year-old veterinarian from York, |
| Funeral services are today (March 30) for 10 of the | | | | England, was headed to work earlier this year when |
| people killed early Friday morning when a | | | | she found her car turned sideways, trapped under |
| tractor-trailer on I-65 crossed the median and hit | | | | the front bumper of the tanker truck. She honked |
| them head-on. The victims were Mennonites headed | | | | her horn and flashed her lights but could not get the |
| to a wedding in Iowa in a 15-passenger van when | | | | trucker's attention. She said she called police on her |
| the crash occurred about 100 miles north of Nashville. | | | | cell phone but realized there was nothing they could |
| Killed in the van were John and Sadie Esh, pillars of a | | | | do to help her. |
| small Mennonite community in Burkesville, Ky.; four of | | | | After a minute, the truck driver realized what was |
| their 12 children; a daughter-in-law; the fiancé of | | | | happening and pulled over with her car, which had |
| their youngest daughter; a 4-month-old grandchild; | | | | remarkably little damage. Ms. Williams was unhurt and |
| and a family friend. | | | | said the driver did not think the accident was serious, |
| The truck driver from Alabama was also killed. | | | | even asking her if he needed to stay around. |
| The only survivors were two grandsons, age 5 and | | | | These examples may not necessarily represent all |
| 3, who were pulled from the wreck by an | | | | wrecks involving big trucks. But you can be sure that |
| eyewitness in another vehicle. | | | | almost anytime a car collides with an 18-wheeler, the |
| The 18-wheeler traveled about 425 feet after | | | | car and its occupants will come out on the losing end. |
| departing the southbound lane, driving through the | | | | And there are undoubtedly many times that an |
| median, over a cable barrier, careening into the dark | | | | accident occurs because of careless - even |
| green van, striking a rock wall and finally bursting into | | | | wreckless - driving on the part of a car around a big |
| flames. | | | | truck. Auto drivers have to be mindful that trucks |
| Officials from the National Transportation Safety | | | | don't maneuver the same way smaller vehicles do. |
| Board were at the site this weekend starting their | | | | Always be aware of traffic around you - big truck or |
| investigation. But it may take up to a year to | | | | otherwise. Drive careful out there! |