Connie Meadors Injured in 18-Wheeler Accident on I-20 in Arlington, TX
Arlington, TX -- January 13, 2022, 54-year-old Connie Meadors was injured in a crash with a tractor-trailer on Interstate 20 in Tarrant County.
Authorities say the incident happened around 7:30 a.m. on I-20 near South Collins Street. Preliminary investigation suggests Meadors was driving a Jaguar sedan east in the far right lane of the freeway, followed at some distance by a Kenworth semi-truck with an attached trailer. Reports indicate the Kenworth driver failed to control the truck's speed and struck the Jaguar from behind; he later told police he switched lanes without ever seeing the Jaguar near the truck.
Meadors reportedly received minor injuries in the collision. The truck driver was unhurt.
No further information is currently available.
Commentary on Connie Meadors Accident on I-20 in Arlington
Investigators believe the crash was caused by the truck driver rear-ending the Jaguar. That seems pretty straightforward and hard to argue, but I try to caution people against thinking just about any trucking company is going to march right up and agree to make amends without a fight. They're free to dispute what police say 'til the cows come home and do so regularly, which is why it's important to carefully investigate and eliminate any "wiggle room" with clear evidence.
Some may assume there's no real need to be so thorough since the only reported injuries were minor. However, it often concerns me to see damages characterized that way right after a wreck. Preliminary assessments don't always have all the needed information to properly judge what happened.
Not long ago I worked on a case where a man's supposedly-minor injury turned to paralyzing pain within a week of his crash with a big rig. Scans showed that his "sore back" was actually a ruptured spinal disk and its effects just took a short while to really show. Not only did that injury require extensive testing and surgery, but it also took months of legal battles with the at-fault company's insurer before they agreed to help as they should have from the start. Ultimately very little about that man's experience was "minor."
I hope nothing like that happens after the Arlington accident and there's no particular reason to think it would. However, the possibility that things aren't quite what they seem is one of the reasons I always tell folks they need to take certain steps after any truck wreck--even if reports downplay its impact. At worst they're overprepared and no action is needed, which is always better than the opposite.
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