7-year-old Killed, Others Injured in Truck Accident on SR-54 in Pasco County, FL
Pasco County, FL -- December 29, 2022, a girl sustained fatal injuries and others were hurt following a commercial truck accident.
Authorities said that the incident occurred in the afternoon hours of Thursday off State Route 54 and Lakepointe Parkway. It is believed that a Ford E350 box truck "failed to stop" approaching a Volkswagen Jetta, resulting in a collision. This then caused a chain-reaction involving at least two other vehicles.
A 7-year-old girl from the Jetta was said to have critical injuries, to which she succumbed on December 31. Others injured in the crash are currently in unknown conditions. Police say they believe the truck driver behaved "in a careless or negligent manner," but they did not report if charges are pending at this time.
Authorities making allegations of reckless driving are obviously concerning, and it would be rather surprising if there were no clear details to support those claims. It could be anything from speeding to texting and driving to following too closely to failing to maintain brakes properly. Are those the only possibilities? Of course not, though other explanations are certainly less likely.
Is it possible that something unusual like a mechanical defect caused the crash? Sure, but oftentimes looking into those factors is crucial simply to rule them out and to prevent trucking companies or insurance companies from using them to shift the blame. Doing so can help keep the facts straight so there is no question about who or what caused the deadly crash. That's important with just about any serious truck wreck, let alone one that took the life of a child.
As a father, I couldn't imagine something so horrible happening without there being every step to get clear answers about what went wrong and whether or not some reckless driver needs to be held accountable. Any steps to shed further light on what led to this senseless crash need to be taken sooner rather than later.
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