Itiana Y. French, Children Injured in Truck Accident on I-80 in White Deer Township, PA
White Deer Township, PA -- June 29, 2022, Itiana French and two children were injured due to an accident involving a semi-truck.
Authorities reported that the crash took place at around 7:35 p.m. in Union County near mile marker 209 of westbound I-80.
According to officials, 24-year-old Itiana French was in a Honda Civic traveling along the interstate. Reports say the vehicle lost control while passing a semi-truck. As a result, the vehicle made contact with and became wedged beneath the trailer.
French and the children in her vehicle were taken to area hospitals. At this time, additional details about the crash cannot be confirmed.
Commentary on Itiana French Truck Accident in White Deer Township
Something that often surprises folks is just how often I look at reports like these with a neutral eye. The police say the victim's car lost control while passing a truck. That's that, right? Well, not necessarily. I have a long career of commercial vehicle wreck cases which show just how often initial reports can be misleading or incomplete.
A while back, for example, there was a crash in which, according to authorities, a woman drifted left of the center line and hit an oncoming tractor-trailer. That's all anyone knew for some time, including the family. But once there were more thorough independent investigations, the evidence actually showed that the tractor trailer was going too fast, causing the trailer to slide out into the woman's, hitting her vehicle. Without those more thorough investigations, it's likely no one ever would have known the truth.
Just to be clear, I'm not trying to point my finger anywhere in particular here. Investigations could show that the truck driver did something wrong, but they could certainly just confirm that the victim did something wrong. Likely or not, they could even show there were extenuating circumstances neither driver had control over. The point is to make sure all the facts are clear before anyone starts jumping to conclusions. I see no reason at this time why this crash would be an exception.
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