A 37-year-old tow truck driver was killed by a semi truck while she was loading a vehicle onto her truck on a North Carolina roadway on Aug. 19. The North Carolina Highway Patrol stated that the crash took place on Highway 220 near Stoneville at night.
A trooper stated that the woman was loading up a vehicle that had blown its tire onto her truck. The disabled vehicle was sitting partially in the right-hand lane. She had activated the tow truck’s yellow caution lights to alert other drivers to the disabled vehicle. However, the semi truck that caused the fatality failed to move over a lane. Police stated that charges are pending against the semi truck driver, who was identified as a 48-year-old man.
When an emergency, law enforcement vehicle has their caution lights activated, drivers are required by law to move over a lane if they are able to. If they cannot move over due to traffic, they are required to slow down in order to avoid causing an accident. If they fail to follow the law and a fatality occurs, the deceased person’s family members may be able to file a wrongful death claim against the negligent party.
A wrongful death claim may allow the deceased person’s family members to seek compensation for any financial damages they sustained as a direct result of the fatality. For example, if the deceased person had dependent children or a dependent spouse, they could potentially seek compensation for lost income, loss of companionship and unexpected funeral expenses.
Source: WGHP, “Tow truck driver struck and killed by passing semi-truck“, Joe Dominguez, August 20, 2014
Source: WGHP, “Tow truck driver struck and killed by passing semi-truck“, Joe Dominguez, August 20, 2014