According to state police in New Jersey, a fiery collision involving a car, a fuel tanker and another semi-truck on Route 78 killed one driver and critically injured the driver of the fuel tanker truck. Reportedly, the crash occurred on Dec. 6 on the highway near the Garden State Parkway ramp’s entrance to the highway.
Officers reported that a 24-year-old man driving an Audi A4 attempted to enter the highway from the ramp, pulling into the pathway of the oncoming fuel tanker which was traveling westbound on the highway. The fuel tanker, apparently unable to avoid the car, collided with it. The collision sent both the tanker and the Audi careening into a semi-truck that was hauling mulch on the road. The fuel tanker and the semi-truck then continued off the highway, causing the tanker to land on the concrete barrier. All 9,000 gallons of fuel ignited, causing both big rigs to burst into flames.
The 35-year-old fuel tank driver was reported to be in critical condition. The other truck driver, a 53-year-old North Bergen man, was treated and released for his injuries. Emergency personnel who responded to the accident scene pronounced the 24-year-old Audi driver dead.
Inattentive driving results in numerous injuries and deaths each year in motor vehicle accidents. When a person receives serious injuries due to such negligence on the part of another driver, the injured person may hold the negligent driver civilly liable for his or her actions through filing a personal injury lawsuit. In the event the negligent driver is killed in such an accident, damages may still be recoverable if the driver’s estate is named as the defendant in the lawsuit. In this way, seriously injured people may be able to recover compensation for the losses they sustained.
Source: NJ.com, “Chatham man killed in fiery Route 78 crash, trucker critically injured“, Noah Cohen and Jessica Remo, December 06, 2014
