Officials in Oregon suspect that a driver fell asleep at the wheel and caused a truck accident on Interstate 5, according to OregonLive.com. According to reports, the truck swerved onto the shoulder of the road and back onto the freeway, where it lost control and eventually rolled over. The driver was identified as Milan Zeba, 53. The truck’s passenger sustained moderate injuries, according to Oregon State Police (OSP) spokesman Lt. Gregg Hastings.
Zeba was hauling 20,000 pounds of frozen fish for Blue Land Transportation Inc., based in British Columbia. OSP cited Zeba for failure to maintain a lane of travel.
Every year over 5,000 people are killed in truck accidents in the United States and another 150,000 are injured, according to SafeRoads.org. Truck drivers should never get behind the wheel if they are tired or fatigued. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Association (FMCSA) recommends that drivers rest 9-12 hours between trips. Investigators should summon the driver’s log to see if he had driven over the allowed hours in the week prior to the accident. If Blue Land Transportation knowingly has drivers working longer than is legally allowed, they must be held accountable for these accidents.
Please contact our firm for a free consultation if you or a loved one was injured in a truck accident.
Spevack Law Firm—Middlesex County truck accident attorneys.
