Baby Killed, Children Injured in Semi-Truck Accident on I-75 in Pasco County, FL
Pasco County, FL -- July 14, 2022, a baby was killed and other children were injured due to an accident where a semi-truck hit their car.
Investigators reported that the crash took place at around 12:30 a.m. near the I-75 and State Route 52 intersection.
According to reports, a family was in a sedan traveling along southbound I-75. While doing so, the vehicle experienced mechanical issues and slowed down. While traveling at low speeds, the vehicle was moving along the side of the road as adults in the vehicle were outside flagging down traffic. Reports say a semi-truck did not slow down, hitting the car. That truck then left the scene.
As a result of the collision, a 6-month-old child in the car sustained fatal injuries. Two other children had reportedly minor injuries. No one else was hurt.
Police say the truck driver was 31-year-old Aramis Peralta Ramirez. Reports say that Ramirez came to a stop along a nearby exit ramp, checked damage on the truck, then continued driving until the truck broke down. Authorities say they arrested Ramirez for leaving the scene of a traffic crash involving death. Right now, additional details are unavailable.
Commentary on Fatal Truck Accident on I-75 in Pasco County
If the reports surrounding this tragedy are accurate, then I simply don't see any way forward that doesn't include every possible step to ensure there are consequences for what happened here. It's one thing for a truck to hit a disabled vehicle on a dark highway. A truck hitting one where people are outside flagging down traffic before then leaving the scene is just unfathomably infuriating. But the degree to which those consequences actually address the issues surrounding this crash is where I'm concerned authorities alone may not go far enough.
To be clear, I can't say what did or didn't happen here, nor can I say who all is responsible without more thorough independent investigations. However, with hit-and-runs involving commercial vehicles, it's always important to find out if they worked for a company and to what degree that company could have seen something like this coming.
A lot of truck drivers that leave the scene of an accident aren't simply scared of the crash itself. Instead, they usually have specific problems they're trying to hide. Drugs, alcohol, warrants, suspended license, vehicle violations, a history of reckless driving on their record, etc. Mistakes like those could obviously warrant further attention on their own, but the more complex concern is that the factors that often surrounding hit-and-runs are things a reasonably prudent employer should know about.
From substance abuse issues to traffic violations to documentation and licensing, a company has a responsibility to ensure their drivers can do their job safely. If they continue allowing someone to drive for them that clearly shows an inability to do so safely, they're putting lives at risk. As such, they can't get away from a serious crash by simply putting all the blame on one reckless driver when their actions likely could have prevented the entire thing by getting that driver off the road.
Again, whether or not something like that happened here, I can't say. But having helped hundreds of families in similar situations, it's tough not to imagine what it would be like to lose a child the way these families have. I know for certain that if something so awful happened to my family, I'd want every possible step to make sure those responsible faced as significant consequences as the law allowed for their actions. That often means taking action beyond simply waiting for police to file some charges. Are those steps being taken here?
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