Two women were seriously injured December 17 in a three-vehicle accident involving a cement truck. 1 The preliminary investigation indicates that the cement truck driver may have been driving while impaired, according to a Mesa police spokesman.
The cement truck drive was also injured in the crash, which occurred near the intersection of Brown Road and Stapley Drive in Mesa, and all were transported to local trauma centers with serious injuries. 3 Witnesses report that the cement truck and one of the women’s vehicles were traveling northbound on Stapley Drive when the cement truck driver swerved for an unknown reason and hit the first vehicle, causing it to move into oncoming traffic, which it hit the second woman’s vehicle. The cement truck overturned in the middle of the intersection and the road was closed for several hours.
About truck accidents in the United States
Someone is killed on the average of every 11 minutes in a truck accident in the United States, according to CNBC. 4 That’s nearly 4,000 deaths every year. An additional 100,000 people are injured. Sadly, the number of truck accidents has increased since 2009. Those interviewed by CNBC cite driver fatigue and the increasing pressure to delivery goods quickly for the escalation in the number of accidents. Impairment, too, plays a part. Forty-four percent of truck driver errors that resulted in an accident involved a driver who was taking prescription or over-the-counter medications, according to a recent study by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. 5
Sources:
1. http://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/mesa/2015/12/17/3-seriously-injured-mesa-cement-truck-wreck/77490322/
2. http://www.12news.com/story/news/local/valley/2015/12/17/mesa-cement-truck-rollover/77486514/
3. http://www.azfamily.com/story/30776959/cement-truck-overturns-in-mesa-crash
4. http://www.cnbc.com/2014/07/30/truck-accidents-surge-why-no-national-outcry.html
5. http://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/trucking-accidents-driver-error-30029.html
