Personal Injury Law

Truck Driver Falls Asleep, Kills Two Students

By Jeffrey Lowe

A college student who was driving home to visit her family for the weekend was killed by a truck driver who fell asleep behind the wheel, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.

Yasmin S. Jackson, a 19-year-old sophomore at Southern Illinois University Carbondale, was headed north on Interstate 57 in Southern Illinois at about 5 p.m. last Friday. She was on her way to her suburban St. Louis home. Riding in the car with her was friend and classmate, Kevetta C. Davis, 19.

Dennis D. Hernandez, 38, was hauling sound equipment for Bret Michaels, a VH1 eality star and former lead singer of the band Poison. The truck was on its way to Texas for filming of his show, ?Rock of Love Bus with Bret Michaels.?

Hernandez fell asleep, crossed over the interstate and crashed into Jackson?s sport utility vehicle. The truck also slammed into a pickup, seriously injuring William B. Wiley, 63 a, and Colleen N. Wiley, 59.

According to the Post-Dispatch, Hernandez was driving on a suspended license at the time of the accident. He only suffered minor injuries in the crash.

The average car weighs approximately 3,500 pounds, whereas a large commercial truck can weigh as much as 80,000 pounds when loaded. According to the National Center for Statistics and Analysis, truck drivers account for only about two of every 10 injuries or deaths stemming from crashes in which a truck comes into contact with a car or motorcycle. Bystanders, bicyclists and individuals riding in other vehicles make up the remaining eight of every 10 crash victims. In 2006, accidents involving large trucks claimed 130 lives in Missouri and 157 in Illinois.

If you or a loved one has been injured or a family member has been killed in a collision with a large truck, we urge you to contact the Lowe Law Firm by calling 877-678-3400 or filling out our online contact form.

Our trucking-accident attorneys will find out whether the truck driver, trucking company, or trailer owner is responsible for the accident. If so, we will then seek compensation for future and other related medical expenses, future and other affected wages, pain and suffering, disability and/or other related damages.

Full post as published by Trucking Accident Attorney Blog on September 29, 2008 (boomark / email).