Semi trailer detaches and kills 7 riding in minivan

Earlier this week, we wrote about a truck accident in Washington State that all but destroyed an important and heavily traveled bridge. The cause of the accident appears to be negligence on the part of a trucking company that was trying to haul an oversized load across a bridge that did not have enough height clearance to accommodate it.

Thankfully, no one was killed or seriously injured in that crash. But an outcome like that is the exception and not the rule. Overloaded tractor-trailer accidents often result in serious injury and death to the drivers unfortunate enough to be in the vicinity of a dangerous truck when things go wrong.

As perhaps the most recent example, four children and three adults were killed last night in upstate New York when their minivan was struck by a trailer that became detached from a semi truck. The trailer was loaded with crushed cars. When it detached and struck the minivan, the small vehicle was ripped apart.

Inside the minivan were four young children under the age of 10 and three adults who were all in their early 20s. The children were from two different families and all victims lived in the area where the accident occurred, about 25 miles south of Syracuse.

While this fatal crash is still under investigation, it is hard to believe that it could truly be deemed an “accident.” Trucking companies and the drivers they hire are responsible for checking and re-checking their vehicles to make sure they are in proper working order and that all loads are firmly secured. It only takes one missed inspection or one malfunction to set in motion a chain of events that claims the lives of seven innocent victims.

Hopefully, the families of these victims will be pursuing answers and justice, whatever form that may take.

Source: CBS News, “Runaway trailer kills 7 in N.Y., including 4 kids,” May 30, 2013