• November 30, 2022

Truck Driver Injured in Rollover Crash on I-81 near Butler Township, PA

Butler Township, PA — November 28, 2022, a 65-year-old truck driver was trapped and injured in a rollover crash off Interstate 81 near Butler Township.

Authorities say the incident happened Monday morning along southbound I-81 at mile marker 147. Preliminary investigation suggests a big rig was headed south on the interstate when the driver may have fallen asleep. The truck left the road and overturned, pinning the driver underneath.

Responders rescued the driver and transported him to a hospital for arm and head injuries.

The investigation continues. No further information is available at this time.

Commentary on Truck Rollover Crash on I-81 near Butler Twp

I always take preliminary reports with a grain or two of salt, including this one--there's no telling what details may have been lost in translation or what may yet come to light. However, a truck driver supposedly falling asleep at the wheel is a pretty big red flag. If that's really how things went, I must discourage immediately assuming the driver was just careless. I've seen several cases where a driver made serious errors while trying to cater to their employers' unfair requirements.

Truck Driver Injured in Rollover Crash on I-81 near Butler Twp, PA

For example, not long ago I looked into a crash involving a trucker that drove over 20 hours straight with no breaks, violating hours of service regulations and frankly common sense. Reports just blamed him for not using his time wisely but completely overlooked that his employer constantly set outrageous delivery deadlines. Drivers who refused to bend the rules to "get the load on the road" risked losing their jobs, and a choice between professional ethics and putting food on the table is no choice at all. It was really just a matter of time before someone got hurt.

I'm not saying anything like that necessarily happened in Pennsylvania. Maybe the driver just had too long of a day and was too tuckered out to finish his run, or could have used just one more cup of coffee at his last stop. However, because there may be more to this than meets the eye it's important to dig deeper and find out the whole story. Taking every available step both to help the victim and to keep a company in check is more than worth the effort.

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