Experienced lawyer familiar with dangerous intersection discusses crash
Three people sustained injuries in a tractor-trailer accident involving two other vehicles on Route 422 near the intersection of Route 388 in Shenango Township, Pennsylvania. The accident occurred at around 10:15 a.m. on April 19 near the intersection which straddles the Shenango and Slippery Rock township boundaries, according to The New Castle News.
Injured victims were transported to several area hospitals, including St. Elizabeth Youngstown Hospital in Youngstown, Ohio, and UPMC Children’s Hospital in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, according to The New Castle News. The conditions of the injured victims were not available.
This is not the first accident to happen at this intersection. Attorney Robert Boughter from New Castle, Pennsylvania, recently represented two victims of a semi-tractor trailer accident that occurred at the same intersection on November 28, 2018. Similar to the April 19 crash, the driver of the semi in the November 2018 crash failed to stop for traffic and slammed into the rear of a vehicle causing a chain reaction, resulting in multiple catastrophic injuries.
Cause of the truck accident
The cause of the April 19 truck accident is currently unknown; however, these types of crashes are always avoidable and most often caused by distracted drivers, cellphone usage, bad brakes, unfamiliarity with the roadway, poor health of the driver, too many hours on the road, etc. The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation closed the road to allow police to conduct an accident reconstruction investigation.
Dangerous intersection site of other crashes
The April 19th accident isn’t the first time there’s been a serious crash on Route 422 near New Castle. Many other serious or fatal car accidents have occurred on this stretch of road in recent years, including:
- Fatal head-on collision on Route 422 which resulted in two fatalities and two injuries on Nov. 9, 2018, according to CBS 2 Pittsburgh.
- Eight people injured in a nine vehicle chain-reaction crash on Route 422 in Slippery Rock Township involving a tractor-trailer that did not slow down and crashed into a New Castle Area Transit bus and several other vehicles on Nov. 28, 2018, according to CBS 2 Pittsburgh.
- Serious two-vehicle collision involving a truck and another vehicle on Route 422 in Slippery Rock Township on Sept. 21, 2019, according to CBS 2 Pittsburgh.
- A milk tanker truck overturning on Route 422 in nearby Butler County on Sept. 3, 2020, according to CBS 2 Pittsburgh.
U.S. Route 422 is a divided highway in parts of Pennsylvania and Ohio but often becomes a two-lane road with a center turning lane in several sections, including near the intersection of Route 388 in New Castle, Pennsylvania, where there’s a four-way stoplight at the intersection near where the April 19, 2021 accident took place.
What to do after a tractor-trailer accident
Accidents involving tractor-trailers and other commercial vehicles can be confusing. Tractor-trailer companies and their insurers immediately launch a defense and often dispatch their attorneys and experts to the scene upon notice of the accident. That’s why it’s important for injury victims and their families to take certain steps afterward to protect their rights, including:
- Seek immediate medical attention – You could have a serious, life-threatening injury. Have a doctor examine you and diagnose what’s wrong right away. Don’t try to diagnose yourself. Have a medical professional evaluate you.
- Contact the police – Tell them you have been in a serious accident. If you cannot call, have someone else at the scene of the crash call the police and ask them to respond.
- Take your doctor’s advice – Listen to what your doctor says and follow their instructions. What matters most is your health and getting better.
- Call your insurance company – Tell them you have been in an accident caused by a tractor-trailer driver. If you cannot do so yourself due to your injury, have a family member call them for you and simply say you have been in a crash caused by another driver.
- Don’t talk to other insurance companies – If the insurance company for the at-fault truck driver or the trucking company contacts you, you do not have to answer their questions. The less you say to them, the better. That’s because insurance companies for the at-fault driver are often simply looking for ways to reduce or deny your injury claim.
- Call a lawyer – Serious truck injury cases require immediate legal attention. The sooner you have an attorney helping you after your accident, the better. Experienced lawyers know how the legal system works and can immediately dispatch their own experts and accident reconstructionists to the scene of the crash to preserve evidence, including important black box data that often gives a picture of how the crash unfolded. Attorneys help you every step of the way, from dealing with insurance companies on your behalf to helping you review your official accident report and investigating your crash. Your lawyer can be your voice for justice and make sure your accident gets the attention you rightfully deserve.
The law firm of Boughter Sinak, LLC has years of experience handling serious trucking accidents and other catastrophic injury claims. A native of New Castle, PA, Attorney Robert J. Boughter has represented injury victims in Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, Georgia, and Florida, bringing them justice and recovering millions on their behalf. To learn more about how award-winning Attorney Boughter can help you with your legal case, simply contact us and schedule a free consultation today.