REAR-END COLLISION BY A 40-TON TRUCK

Imagine driving a family sedan on the highway one morning when you encounter an accident up ahead that’s blocking one lane. As you slow to safely pass through the scene, you notice a gravel truck in your rear-view mirror. You realize the driver is not braking at all but is approaching at high speed!

The truck is a large, dump-bodied Peterbilt, with a full gravel load taking it to the legal maximum of 80,000 pounds – that’s 40 tons, more than twenty times the weight of your Toyota Camry.

You’re trapped in your lane. The truck hits your car at full speed, knocking it 300 feet into another moving car. The truck then proceeds another 700 feet, taking over a fifth of a mile in all to come to a stop.

Your car is crushed and you suffer severe, disabling injuries.

The driver of this truck had sleep apnea.

Sleep apnea can cause problems when we’re awake. The inability to sleep soundly without interruption can make you drowsy and fatigued. Someone with sleep apnea may find their cognitive functioning during the day to be diminished.

Professional drivers have to be alert. At highway speeds, a truck will travel over 100 feet every second. A few moments of inattention can be catastrophic.

If you want to discuss an injury caused by a drowsy, inattentive driver, please feel free to call us here at the office anytime.

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