Nicholas West Killed in Motorcycle, Truck Accident in Alton, IL
UPDATE (January 4, 2022): Recent reports show that there are pending charges and allegations against the driver of the truck involved in Nicholas West's death. At time of writing, Madison County officials identified Steven Dublo as the truck driver. They accuse him of driving under the influence of drugs and also that he had a red light when the collision occurred. Charges for aggravated DUI resulting in death are pending at this time.
Alton, IL -- April 2, 2022, Nicholas West was killed as the result of an accident where a motorcycle and a lumber truck crashed.
Authorities responded to the area of East Broadway and Main Street at around 11:20 a.m. According to reports, 32-year-old Nicholas West was on a motorcycle traveling westbound along East Broadway. A semi-truck reportedly turned onto the eastbound lane, following which the motorcycle hit the truck.
West sustained fatal injuries due to the crash. Right now, additional details about the crash are unavailable.
Commentary on Nicholas West Motorcycle, Truck Accident in Alton
At the very least, it is encouraging to see that there steps being taken to make things as right as possible for the family affected by this devastating event. Such serious allegations warrant every possible step to ensure any wrongdoing is met with the appropriate consequences. But some details in these recent revelations concern me.
In particular, the truck involved here could be a commercial truck. Why does that change things? Simply put, it could mean there's more than one person that could have prevented this deadly crash. When a commercial driver is caught driving under the influence of drugs, investigators are prudent to find out if their employer did know or should have known that was a risk.
Simply put, a truck driver rarely wakes up one day and decides to do a bunch of drugs before getting behind the wheel. More often than not, it's an ongoing issue that most responsible employers would catch in a background check, through proper oversight, or with regular testing. If a driver is working for a company, and that company failed to take proper precautions to prevent their drivers from doing something as dangerous as driving while under the influence, they can be responsible if their employee's avoidable actions get people hurt.
Like I said, it's up to the evidence--not me--to say whether or not the allegations here are true. But it's important steps are taken to ensure someone is continuing the investigations so police don't put all of their focus on one single person. For all we know, there could be other drivers out there still putting the public at risk.
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