Frank Belskis Killed in 18-Wheeler Accident on I-95 in Greenland, NH
UPDATE (June 13, 2022): The victim of this accident has been identified as 92-year-old Frank Belskis.
Greenland, NH — May 30, 2022, one person was killed in a collision with a tractor-trailer on Interstate 95 in Greenland.
According to reports the incident happened around 11:30 p.m. on northbound I-95. Preliminary investigation suggests the victim's car may have been parked for unknown reasons in the right travel lane with its lights on when a tractor-trailer approached and crashed into it.
The car's driver suffered fatal injuries in the collision. The truck driver was unhurt.
The investigation continues but police say speed and impairment are not suspected.
No further information is currently available.
Commentary on Frank Belskis Accident on I-95 in Greenland
The victim's vehicle reportedly stopped in the roadway before this accident; it's obviously important to learn why, but that detail shouldn't overshadow other concerns--like whether the truck driver could or should reasonably have avoided hitting a stopped car with its lights on.
That may seem unfair to the trucker, and I'm not pointing fingers. However, there's a world of difference between a truck hitting a disabled car because the driver had no time or space to maneuver and that same collision happening because the trucker wasn't paying attention until it was too late.
I worked on a crash not long ago, similar in some ways to the one in Greenland, where a truck hit someone's disabled car and killed the driver. The trucking company claimed their driver had no way to see or avoid the car at that time of night, but when we subpoenaed dashcam footage from the truck we found the car's lights were clearly visible from at least a quarter-mile away. The truck driver didn't see it until he was on top of it because he was watching TV shows on a tablet instead of the road.
People typically aren't liable for accidents they couldn't reasonably avoid, so was this crash just an unfortunate series of events starting with the victim's car stopping or would a reasonably prudent professional driver have managed to avoid hitting it? It'll take more thorough investigations to say for sure.
