One Injured in Truck Accident on Ben White Blvd in Austin, TX
Austin, TX — June 1, 2022, a 35-year-old man was injured in a crash with a tractor-trailer on Ben White Boulevard in Austin.
According to reports the incident happened around 8:15 a.m. on the 7100 block of East Ben White Blvd near Caseybridge Court. Preliminary investigation suggests a Kenworth construction truck was traveling east on the Ben White service road in the inside lane. He told investigators he put on his turn signal and then attempted to make a right turn into a nearby construction site. He said he didn't have a traffic spotter and didn't see the victim's Ford Escape approaching in the middle lane.
As the truck turned the Ford driver veered sharply right to avoid crashing into it. The SUV left the roadway and traveled into the construction site, where it may have hit a concrete slab.
The Ford driver suffered minor injuries in the collision. The truck driver was unhurt.
No further information is currently available.
Commentary on Truck Accident on Ben White Blvd in Austin
If reports have their facts straight it sounds like the truck driver is responsible for this crash. I see that he turned wide from the far lane to cut across the whole roadway so he could enter the construction site, he failed to see a vehicle in motion before he turned, and he had no traffic spotter before he essentially created a big heavy roadblock for any traffic.
I don't want to come down too hard on the guy; in fairness, the roadblock would only have lasted a few seconds. Unfortunately during those few seconds the victim showed up and had to swerve away to avoid the truck--exactly the kind of thing a traffic spotter could have helped prevent.
I'm relieved the victim took swift action and avoided a crash in the middle of the road, and I'm glad to read his injuries were reportedly minor. Hopefully that's true, but I've seen more than a few cases where police underestimated the damage done at the scene and so-called "minor" injuries were anything but.
In one such instance a man crashed with an 18-wheeler and thought he'd gotten lucky with only a sore back. Doctors sent him home and told him to stay off his feet until the soreness subsided, but instead it increased substantially until he could barely move. Back in the ER scans showed the crash actually ruptured a disk in his spine, which needed surgery and extensive physical therapy to treat--all while the insurance company tried its hardest not to lend a hand.
We got that victim the help he needed in the end, but we were able to do so because he reached out to us shortly after his crash. If he'd waited on the assumption that he was mostly fine, crucial evidence might have vanished or time could have run out to take action. That's why I strongly urge everyone to take their own accidents seriously and take appropriate steps. At worst they're overprepared but don't need what they have, which is always far better than the opposite.
