Family of man crushed in street sweeper accident settles wrongful death case

The family of a pedestrian who was run over by in a street sweeper accident have settled their wrongful death lawsuit against the companies that owned and operated the heavy equipment. In February 2018, the victim, Mr. Alexandru Culai, was struck and killed by a street sweeper on 120th Avenue NE in Bellevue, Washington. With the help of a mediator, the parties agreed on a total settlement of $4,000,000.00. The settlement is pending approval by the court because there are minors involved. The case had been set for trial in March 2020. At the time of the fatal street sweeper accident, Alex, a 44-year-old Christian musician and professional truck driver, was walking to pick up his tractor-trailer. A low-resolution video from a

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Everyone is tired, but it’s truck driver fatigue you should worry about

The number of road incidents involving driver drowsiness is close to eight times higher than the federal estimate, based on a recent study by AAA. Analyzing data from more than 700 dashcams and 3593 drivers, researchers looked at the 3 minutes prior to a crash. By tracking eyelid closures, they found that 9.5% of all crashes involved drowsiness. That is a sharp contrast to National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) statistics, which estimate driver drowsiness as a factor in only 1.4% of all police-reported crashes. Truck driver fatigue and crash risk There are more semi-trucks on the roads than ever before, and crashes have increased about 20% over the past decade. Many truck crashes have resulted in the loss of life or serious and

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Sleepy trucker dumped 40,000 pounds of chicken feathers on I-5

No one was injured. No other vehicles were involved. But 40,000 pounds of feathers were dumped onto I-5 in Federal Way around 3 a.m. when semi-truck driver caused a roll-over crash. Off to a ROUGH start coming northbound I-5 out of @wsdot_tacoma area. 7 mile backup now due to this semi rollover that is blocking the 3 left lanes at S. 320th. #LeaveEarly pic.twitter.com/kdbUE7KXIa — WSDOT Traffic (@wsdot_traffic) May 23, 2018 The truck driver told a local reporter that he had fallen asleep. “I drank coffee and took one of those pills that had caffeine” Sleepy trucker, why were you hauling chicken feathers at 3 a.m.? Reportedly, the driver had left Foster Farms in Kelso, Washington, and was heading north.

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Remembering Brooke, and the death that broke his heart

On Friday, I received a message from the brother of one of my clients. My former client had suddenly passed away on Christmas Day. His cause of death was not immediately known. In my mind, it was caused by a broken heart. I represented Brooke about 10 years ago, but his story stays with me. I met Brooke after the death of his wife. She had been driving home from the store after picking up candles so that she and Brooke could share a special dinner together on Friday night. A semi-truck trailer came loose and crashed into her small pick-up truck. That crash was so needless, and could have been easily prevented with some reasonable care. When Brooke came home that

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Why trucking companies should check their own drivers for sleep apnea

Sleep apnea, a disorder causing repeated pauses in breathing during sleep, affects at least one in 10 people. In serious cases, obstructive sleep apnea can cause someone to fall asleep with little to no warning. In 2016, after a spate of high-profile train crashes and fatal truck crashes caused by sleeping drivers, the Obama administration looked for a proactive approach to preventing such tragedies. One idea: make testing train engineers and truck drivers for sleep apnea a requirement. After 18 months of considering and reviewing a sleep apnea testing rule, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration and the Federal Railroad Administration made an announcement. They withdrew the proposed rule. There will be no requirement for sleep apnea testing of commercial

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What happens when sleep is a safety issue?

Recently, I reviewed a Police Report where the truck driver admitted he only had 3 hours of sleep the night before he caused a serious crash.* For many of us, losing a couple of hours of sleep at night just means we’re a little less productive the next day. When your job is driving—especially if you’re driving an 80,000 lb. semi-truck— a lack of sleep can be truly dangerous. Sleep deprivation: an underreported cause of crashes. Driving can be exhausting, especially in heavy traffic or bad weather. “Asleep at the wheel” is a suspected factor in about 5% of truck crash fatalities. But, past studies by NTSB suggest that fatigue and/or sleep deprivation contribute to 30-40% of crashes (PDF). But “drowsiness” is

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Family of man crushed in street sweeper accident settles wrongful death case

Everyone is tired, but it’s truck driver fatigue you should worry about

Sleepy trucker dumped 40,000 pounds of chicken feathers on I-5

Remembering Brooke, and the death that broke his heart

Why trucking companies should check their own drivers for sleep apnea

What happens when sleep is a safety issue?

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