A Mendon man dies after becoming trapped between 2 big rigs

A 57-year-old Mendon, Tennessee, man lost his life in a truck accident early on the afternoon of Thursday, July 13, 2017 at a Knoxville truck stop. The truck driver, who worked alongside one of his sons as a FedEx subcontractor, was in the process of cleaning the windshield of his truck during a driver changeover when he was struck by another tractor-trailer.

According to witness statements taken at the crash scene, the man had been washing his truck’s windshield at the time another trucker that had been parked alongside decided to pull forward. When the other trucker moved his truck, the man became trapped between both the cab of his 18-wheeler where he had been working and the trailer of the other one. Soon thereafter, the man crashed to the ground.

It’s then the man’s son left the truck’s cab and ran to his father’s aid. He found his father conscious, yet critically injured. His father was able to mumble a few words to his son as he awaited for emergency crews to arrive. He told his son that he could tell he was going to die. He asked his son to relay a message to his mother if he didn’t make it. He said to tell her ‘I love you’.

Paramedics soon thereafter arrived at the truck stop where the collision occurred. They quickly rushed the man to an area hospital where he was immediately rushed into surgery. Within 15 minutes, he was dead. The family of the man says it’s their understanding that the man suffered such significant internal bleeding that he bled out before doctors could save his life.

The decedent leaves behind a 60-year-old wife, 10 kids and 9 grandchildren. Three of the man’s kids are still minors. Up until the accident, their mother was a homemaker and now faces having to enter the workforce for the first time at an advanced age in order to provide for her family.

In having a Knoxville truck accident attorney review the specifics surrounding the crash, the man’s widow may find that she’s able to file a wrongful death claim against the trucker who caused the crash. If she files one, she may be able to recover the costs associated with medical bills, funeral expenses and be entitled to receive future wages her husband might have earned had he not been prematurely killed.

Source: Cache Valley Daily, “Mendon man fatally injured during truck stop accident in Tennessee,” Jennifer Steele Christensen, July 17, 2017