Search for driver after 4 die in Tennessee truck accident

An air and land search was launched by Tennessee authorities on a recent Friday evening during the first week of May for the driver of a dump truck. The search resulted from an earlier truck accident in which four people were killed. It is believed that the driver was under the influence of alcohol or drugs when the accident occurred.

According to the accident report, a dump truck with a trailer was traveling south when the trailer became unhinged and detached from the truck.  The trailer moved into the northbound traffic and struck two cars, a sedan and an SUV, which flipped over. The deceased include three people in their 30s — a 36 and a 38-year-old male and a female aged 37 — as well as a 62-year-old female.  

The driver of the dump truck did not stop immediately. He continued for more than a half mile. He then stopped, got out of his truck and disappeared. The local district attorney has indicated that the truck driver was driving with an invalid license.  Investigation into the accident continues, and criminal charges will likely follow.  

Tennessee law allows for the family of fatally injured victims of a truck accident to file a wrongful death claim when the gathered evidence suggests that a fatality was caused by the negligence of another. The preliminary evidence from this tragedy indicates that the dump truck driver may be liable for his negligence in causing the crash and the resulting deaths of four people. A successfully litigated case may result in an award of financial damages to the surviving families of the deceased victims.

Source: wate.com, “Names released in deadly Highway 58 wreck involving a dump truck in Meigs County“, May 7, 2016