Following a motor vehicle accident, there are multiple emotions running through the heads of the people involved: worry for the health of the people in their vehicle; anger at the other driver involved; and anxiety at the potential costs that might be on the horizon. However, it is important to keep these emotions in check in the event of a car accident. People might forget that they are often still in danger after they crash, particularly if they are on a busy roadway.
This was the situation after a crash earlier this week on Interstate 70 in Westmoreland County. The driver of a Jeep somehow ended up going the wrong way down the freeway in the early morning hours, and she collided with a minivan. According to reports, five people in the minivan were taken to the hospital to treat their injuries.
The Jeep driver got out of her vehicle, which came to rest in the left lane of the eastbound side of the freeway. Shortly thereafter, a tractor-trailer came barreling through the crash scene. The cab of the big rig clipped the side of the Jeep but struck the woman; she died instantly from blunt-force injuries. The driver of the tractor-trailer drove off, apparently without stopping.
Considering the accident took place just after 2 a.m., conditions were dark; a truck driver would not likely be expecting a pedestrian to appear on the roadway. However, that is no excuse for a fatal accident. In situations like this, injured people and the families of those who died might choose to seek legal representation and compensation for their expenses and losses.
Source: Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, “Woman causes head-on accident in I-70 then is killed by oncoming tractor-trailer,” Molly Born, March 31, 2014