Auto accident involving a semi trucks results in 1 death

A job on the road is quite dangerous. Truck drivers in Illinois try to be cautious, but unfortunately, accidents happen. A recent auto accident on Interstate 55 resulted in the death of one truck driver.

On a recent Monday night near Braceville, two semi trucks crashed.  A 37-year-old man was driving a 2014 Peterbilt in the right hand lane, heading southbound on I-55. At that time, a 2009 Peterbilt, driven by a 59-year-old man, was on the shoulder of the southbound lanes, attempting to merge back into the driving lane. The 2014 semi hit the rear of the 2009 semi that was attempting to merge.

The drivers of both vehicles lost control, and each rig caught fire. The 2014 semi broke apart, and the driver was thrown from his vehicle, still strapped into his seat belt in his seat. He was pronounced dead at 8:55 p.m. by the Grundy County Coroner. The driver of the other truck that had been attempting to merge into traffic was taken to a nearby hospital to be treated for injuries; he was cited for failure to yield to merging traffic.

Truck accidents can be catastrophic on Illinois roadways. Injured parties in an auto accident may have the right to pursue a lawsuit against the driver that is deemed negligent in an accident. In the case that a victim dies because of injuries suffered in a truck accident, his or her family may have a wrongful death claim to make against the driver deemed negligent as well as that driver’s employer. Workers’ compensation for truck drivers injured on the job (including the surviving families of those killed while working) is also possible in Illinois truck accidents.

Source: morrisherald-news.com, “One killed in fatal collision on Interstate 55 in Grundy County“, Mike Mallory, Aug. 25, 2015