A 51-year-old man was killed in an Austin collision involving two tractor-trailers on July 30. The man, who was driving one of the trucks involved in the tractor-trailer accident, was pronounced dead at the scene of the crash after his vehicle’s cab was crushed.
The deceased man was driving a blue 2006 Volvo truck hauling two enclosed trailers in the 12100 block of southbound Interstate 35 near Parmer Lane. At about 3:20 a.m., his truck reportedly rear-ended the trailer of a black 2004 Freightliner semi-truck that had pulled off onto the shoulder. The Freightliner re-entered the highway and pulled into the path of the Volvo.
Interstate 35 was closed for about seven hours while police processed the scene and clean-up crews cleared debris from the roadway. Detectives spoke with the driver of the Freightliner at the scene. The Austin Police Department’s Vehicular Homicide Unit continued to investigate the crash at the time of reports.
The accident was the 29th recorded fatal traffic accident of 2014 in Austin. A 2010 study by the Center for National Truck Statistics found that Texas ranked first in the number of fatal truck accidents with 411. California, the state that ranked second in the study, had 239 fatal truck accidents that year.
Truck drivers often provide a significant portion of their households’ income, and the emotional pain of losing a loved one is often worsened by the financial insecurity that results when half of a family’s income is lost. Austin personal injury attorneys may provide guidance to victims’ families after fatal truck accidents including advice about seeking compensation from negligent truck drivers or the owners of the trucks involved in their loved ones’ deaths.
Source: Austin American-Statesman, ‘Victim in fatal I-35 crash in North Austin identified”, Philip Jankowski, July 31, 2014
