Robert McCoin Killed in Tractor-Trailer Accident in Colbert County, AL
Colbert County, AL -- February 18, 2023, Robert McCoin was killed due to an accident where a tractor-trailer hit his vehicle.
Officials said that the incident happened at around 5:00 a.m. several miles to the east of Cherokee. It appears that 67-year-old Robert McCoin was in a vehicle traveling along US Highway 72. Due to events unclear, his vehicle "was hit" by a tractor-trailer. As a result, McCoin sustained fatal injuries.
The wording of these events is anything but clear, and it's important not to jump to conclusions, as concerning as those implications are. Saying one vehicle crashed into another often comes off as though the first driver is the instigator—the one at fault. That can obviously be true, considering things like hitting stopped traffic, running stop signs, speeding, following too closely, or failing to avoid a visible disabled vehicle.
At the same time, though, a vehicle can hit another if that vehicle is too dark to see, merging off the shoulder, going dangerously slowly, or even due to events like another reckless driver causing one of the other two to swerve before then leaving the scene. My hope is that authorities are working to get clearer answers for the victim's loved ones that the news offers, because their accounts are far from telling the whole story.
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