According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, nearly 450,000 truck accidents occur each year in the United States. Of those, nearly 5,000 drivers are killed, with 74% are drivers of passenger vehicles involved in the accidents. With this in mind, there are some tips that will help other drivers remain safe while sharing the road with big trucks. The first and most important tip is to give the truck room. It will take a truck a longer time to stop than a car. Always keep in mind that if you cannot see a truck’s side-view mirrors, they cannot see you.
11 Alive reports that a semi-truck crashed into a fire truck, killing the driver of the semi-truck.
The crash occurred at about 3:20 a.m. on Sunday morning on Interstate 20 westbound in Douglas County.
The fire truck was on the highway in response to an accident involving a Ford Mustang that had driven off of the roadway. The vehicle went up an embankment and into the woods. The fire truck was blocking the shoulder and right lane to protect other rescue workers as they worked to extricate the driver of the Mustang.
About 20 minutes after the first accident, a tractor-trailer plowed into the back of the fire truck, causing extreme damage to the big rig. The driver of the tractor-trailer, 41-year-old Javon Martin was killed on impact.
Two firefighters who were still inside the fire truck at the time of the crash were wearing seatbelts. They were not injured in the crash.
Westbound traffic reopened shortly after 9 a.m. No other injuries were reported.
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