The only northern Mississippi death recorded happened in Blue Mountain, Mississippi. The driver of a tractor-trailer crashed into the back of a 1986 Chevrolet truck, causing both vehicles to catch fire.
James H. Stagener, 75, of Blue Mountain, and his wife Annie Stagener, 67, were trapped in the truck and were extracted by emergency responders. Tragically, James Stagener died from injuries sustained in the accident and his wife was airlifted to a Memphis hospital where she remains in critical condition recovering from severe burns. While the cause of the accident is still under investigation, the tragedy shows just how dangerous huge semis can be to unsuspecting drivers.
A civil suit by the injured woman and family of the deceased driver is possible given the circumstances of the accident. As this report clearly demonstrates, traffic collisions that involve a commercial vehicle can be catastrophic. The large size and extreme weight of commercial trucks represents a significant danger to people in automobiles. Mississippi tractor-trailer accidents and other traffic collisions that involve commercial vehicles are on the rise across the state and the country.
As evidence of this, truck-related fatalities rose for the first time in 2010 since 2005, according to the Department of Transportation (DOT). Fatalities involving large trucks increased rose 8.7%, DOT’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) said in its annual report. The NHTSA said that 3,675 people died in truck-related accidents in 2010, an increase of 295 over the 2009 figure of 3,380, ending a three-year decline in fatalities in truck-involved accidents.
If you or some you know has been injured by the recklessness of others, including by a tractor-trailer, you need the help of a Mississippi injury attorney to help protect your rights and recover damages for your injury.
Source: “Five highway deaths over holiday weekend,” by J.B. Clark, published at DJournal.com.
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