Authorities have said that a school librarian was killed when her car hit an 18-wheeler. The Clarion-Ledger reports 44-year-old Laura Ellis, a librarian at the Canton School of Arts and Sciences, died at the scene of the accident which took place early Thursday. Police say truck driver Igor Kovalchuk, of Woodbridge, Ill., was not injured.
Canton Police Chief Vickie McNeill told reporters that the accident happened in the eastbound lanes of Mississippi 22 under the I-55 bridge at 7:15 a.m. McNeill says the victim apparently did not see the back of the truck when she crashed into it.
In an abundance of caution Madison County Coroner Alex Breeland has ordered an autopsy to determine the exact cause of death.
Such deadly accidents are more common and more often, fatal as trucks get heavier. Anti-trucking groups say that bigger and heavier trucks would need the length of two football fields to stop. This increase in weight would have resulted in more and deadlier accidents across the country as these hulking vehicles spread across the interstate system. Safety experts point out that people in passenger vehicles are especially vulnerable in collisions with large trucks because of the great difference in weight between cars and large tucks. In two-vehicle crashes involving passenger vehicles and large trucks, 98 percent of the fatalities were occupants of the passenger vehicle (See article The Dangers of Large Trucks posted by the Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety).
As Mississippi personal injury attorneys we routinely see the devastating aftermath of collisions caused by heavy trucks. If you’ve been the victim of such an accident and need help navigating confusing legal waters, contact the skilled attorneys at Stroud, Flechas & Dalton today for a free initial consultation at (662) 536-5656.
Source: “High school librarian killed in crash with 18-wheeler on Mississippi 22,” by The Associated Press, published at ChicagoTribune.com.
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