Few of those driving on Kentucky’s many roads and highways see the massive semi-trucks and tractor-trailers traveling alongside them and do not feel intimidated. Yet those fears are often assuaged by the knowledge that those driving them are highly trained in their operation.
Not all large vehicles, however, require drivers with specialty licenses. Box trucks, for example, may come in under the gross vehicular weight required for those operating them to have a commercial drivers’ license. This means essentially anyone can drive them. Yet simply because box trucks are not as large as a traditional semi does not mean that they do not carry the same devastating potential.
Oldham County accident results in fatality
This fact was again made abundantly clear in an accident that recently occurred on Interstate 71 near Louisville. The local CBS News affiliate reports that a box truck rear-ended an SUV stopped due to traffic on the freeway, pushing the SUV into the tractor-trailer in front of it. Sadly, the driver of the SUV (a 39-year-old man from Crestwood) died in the collision. Reports did not detail the status of the box truck driver. Currently, that driver faces no criminal charges stemming from the accident, although authorities continue to look into the cause of the collision.
Liability (direct and vicarious) for truck accidents
One might certainly assume a lack of intent on the part of drivers who cause truck accidents like the one detailed above. However, that does not change the outcome of their actions. Should those actions be due to carelessness or an inability to adequately operate their vehicles, accident victims might rightly assign them a liability. Indeed, such liability might also extend to their employers should a driver’s actions occur within the scope of their employment.