Two people were injured on February 8, 2016 in Jefferson County when a semi trailer did not stop at a stop sign and struck a car. The accident occurred at 2:47 pm at the US-24 and US-59 highway junction, two miles east of Perry.
The 1997 Peterbilt semi-trailer was southbound on US-59 and did not stop at a stop sign. The semi struck the driver’s side of a 2009 Chevrolet Malibu that was going east on US-24. The Chevrolet’s driver, a 30-year-old man from Eudora, and his passenger, a 32-year-9ld woman from Topeka, were injured. They were taken to St. Francis Health in Topeka. The semi driver was not injured. All of those involved in this accident were wearing seat belts.
There may have been many reasons why the semi driver did not stop at the stop sign and yield to oncoming traffic. They could be:
- Driver inattention
- Driver fatigue
- Poor maintenance of the vehicle
- Inexperienced driver
Driver inattention is the leading factor in most highway crashes, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. The driver could have been distracted. He could have been looking at his cell phone or a map.