Two Motorist Fatalities in Rancho Murieta Underride Crash
Two motorist fatalities occurred during the morning hours of September 26 when a motor vehicle was involved in an underride accident with a flatbed truck along eastbound Jackson Road at Sloughhouse. The accident happened at 11:00 in the morning near the produce market at Davis Ranch when a Honda moved into an adjacent lane and caused the collision. The accident was called into the California Highway Patrol (CHP) by a person who works for the fire department. According to the report by the CHP, the blue Honda was stuck underneath the flatbed truck and caught on fire. The coroner arrived at the scene and discovered that the two occupants of the Honda had expired. The CHP is charged with investigating the crash to determine the reason for the motorist fatalities.
Further Details of the Accident
Initially, traffic was halted in both directions along Route 16 (Jackson Road). Emergency responders with the fire department had to remove roofing from the vehicle to extricate the people inside, which was estimated to take around two hours. Eastbound lanes were reopened as westbound traffic was diverted onto the shoulder of the road.
Dealing With a Wrongful Death
A family can face overwhelming grief when a loved one is killed suddenly. The grief the family feels is compounded by the unexpected passing without the chance to say goodbye. The shock is disruptive since a person’s ability to adjust to the accident is severely undermined. Family members suffer a period of bewilderment related to a monumental change in their world. There are things a family can do to cope:
- Support one another by helping with funeral and other arrangements, so it does not fall to one person alone.
- Make sure that family members are maintaining their strength by eating and sleeping properly.
- Discuss the accident. All too often, family members are hesitant to bring the topic up. While there is a time and place to do this, ignoring what happened is not productive.
- If a loved one died due to another’s negligence, it is important to understand that the person’s errors were responsible for the death. Many families are relieved when the person is taken to task for the accident. One way of doing this is to file a wrongful death lawsuit. While this will not bring the individual back, it will avoid the financial loss the person’s death brings.
Underride Accidents
Underride accidents resulting in motorist fatalities are among the most lethal because when a vehicle slides under a big truck, the roof of the car is commonly sheared off or crushed. Government statistics state that around 200 people each year die from underride accidents around the country. Although underride guards are required for the backs of semis, legislation to require them for the sides of big rigs has been stalled in Congress for some time.
Causes of Underride Accidents
These types of accidents can have a number of causes, some of them due to driver error on the part of the motorist and others because of the truck driver. Some causes of underride accidents leading to motorist fatalities include:
- A truck driver stopping suddenly
- Speeding by either driver
- The truck driver moving too slowly in the fast lane
- Faulty or defective underride guards
- Distracted driving by either the trucker or motorist
- Defective auto parts such as the steering wheel, accelerator, brakes or tires
What Your Attorney Can Do
The members of our law firm empathize with your loss and are here to help. We send our investigators to the accident site where they search for reasons the crash occurred. We interview witnesses, obtain video footage of the accident if possible and scrutinize police reports for accuracy. Once this is done, we turn the data over to our lawyers to build a strong case against the at-fault party.
Rancho Murieta Wrongful Death Lawyer
I’m Ed Smith, a Rancho Murieta wrongful death lawyer. Facing the loss of a loved one is difficult but even more so when negligence was the cause of their death. If you lost your loved one because of negligence, I have free and friendly advice to offer you. Please get in touch with me at (916) 921-6400. A toll-free line is available at (800) 404-5400 for others calling long-distance from Northern California. An easy to complete contact form is also available online.
I’m honored to have helped Rancho Murieta residents and Northern Californians for 37 years to obtain compensation for their injuries. Whether it is a traffic collision, a brain injury, or other types of negligence, I’ll be by your side all the way.
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