Fatal Tennessee car wreck may lead to charges

Charges may be filed against the driver of a pickup truck involved in an early morning accident on a recent Sunday morning in June. Tennessee authorities report that the car wreck, which involved a tractor trailer and a pickup truck, happened at approximately 8:00 a.m. The two deceased victims were passengers in the pickup truck.

The accident report indicates that the driver of the pickup truck, a 44-year-old male, side-swiped the semi truck after crossing over the white line. The pickup truck then left the road and struck several trees. At the time of the accident, the semi truck was stationary next to the road, as it had broken down earlier.

Apart from the two victims, a 20-year-old female and 23-year-old male, the driver and another passenger, a 37-year-old male, were injured. It is not clear how serious their injuries are. The 23-year-old deceased passenger apparently was a family member of the driver. Fortunately, both the occupants of the semi truck escaped injury.

The accident is under investigation. While authorities have indicated that drugs and alcohol did not play a role in the accident, the outcome of the accident may have been different if the two deceased victims had made use of their seat belts. Once again, the importance of using safety restraints have been proved through tragedy.

Irrespective of the outcome of any criminal charges, the family of the deceased 20-year-old female may decide to file a wrongful death claim against the pickup truck driver. Depending on the severity of the injuries suffered by the 37-year-old male passenger involved in the car wreck, a personal injury claim may also follow.  A Tennessee civil court may award financial damages to the victims and/or their families if the outcome of the investigation proves that driver negligence was the root cause of the accident.

Source: fox17.com, “Fairview Man, Nashville Woman Killed in Accident on I-40 in Dickson County“, Anthony Glover, June 19, 2016