Two Injured in 18-wheeler Accident on South Loop 610 in Houston, TX
Houston, TX -- September 27, 2022, two people were injured as the result of an accident involving a parked 18-wheeler on South Loop 610.
Authorities said they were called to the area near the South Loop 610 and South Freeway/TX-288 interchange at around 12:30 a.m. It appears that an 18-wheeler had come to a stop along the right lane of travel on east Loop 610. While there, a Ford F-150 hit it from behind, resulting in another collision with a Tesla.
A 26-year-old Man and a 21-year-old woman in the Ford had injuries said to be incapacitating. No one else was hurt, according to details given. While police said the truck had its flashers on, it did not mention other visibility markers, like cones or flares. This makes me wonder what other concerning details could be surrounding this truck that was blocking the roadway.
Sometimes, things happen that simply can't be avoided. But a case I handled recently, for example, shows why a truck stopping in the middle of a highway isn't always some unavoidable, unforeseeable situation.
In that crash, the truck involved stopped due to a mechanical breakdown. Through independent investigations, we proved those issues were the result of months of neglected maintenance work, not some unpredictable mechanical defect. Had the truck been properly maintained, the crash probably never would have happened.
Maybe nothing so egregious happened here, but people being serious hurt certainly warrants a better understanding of what happened. One step toward that end is simply knowing what to look for, which is sometimes everyone in the public should strive to learn more about.
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