Big Rig driver called a hero by fire officials. Four people died and a toddler is in critical condition after they were injured in a fiery three-vehicle collision in Ontario. According to a news report in the Inland Valley Daily Bulletin, the accident was triggered by an 18-year-old driver, who lost control of his Ford Explorer and veered over the yellow line, slamming head-on into the front of a Chevrolet minivan. The impact of that crash caused the minivan with five people to spin around and hit a Ford Escort, the newspaper reported.
A 64-year-old woman and a 70-year-old man in the minivan were both ejected and pronounced dead at the scene. A 60-year-old woman riding in the back of the minivan with two little boys also died later that day. A 4-year-old boy died in the hospital and a 1-year-old boy was air-lifted to the hospital with massive head and chest injuries, according to the article. The boy is still fighting for his life. The driver of the Explorer was also ejected and suffered injuries to his legs and body but is expected to survive as is the 45-year-old driver of the Escort.
According to eyewitness reports, all vehicles were traveling at 50 mph, the posted speed limit. The article also stated that two good Samaritans provided help to the victims. Fire officials said a tractor trailer driver who saw the crash and put out the fire that started in the front compartment of the Explorer, was a hero. A deputy from Rancho Cucamonga administered first-aid to the victims until paramedics arrived, the Bulletin reported.
It is not known what caused the young driver of the Explorer to lose control of his vehicle and cross the yellow line. There is no information on whether he was under the influence of alcohol or whether he was distracted by a cell phone or something else that he was doing when the accident occurred. I am interested to know how this tragic crash occurred. It is indeed a gruesome, heart-breaking tragedy for the families of all the injured. My prayers are with the families and especially with the baby who is fighting for his life in a hospital.
It is very important for the families of the victims to quickly retain attorneys in order to protect their interests and rights. An early investigation and preservation of evidence is extremely important. The involved vehicles need to be preserved before they are altered in any way.
The families need to find out what went wrong, which will lead to who is responsible. In order to determine responsibility in a fatality or major injury crash, it is imperative to determine the accident sequence through accident reconstruction experts. Then it is imperative to determine the “mechanism of injury” or what specifically caused the injuries, in order to root out any automobile component failures that may have caused or contributed to the injuries.
Accident analysis like this is not conducted by your run of the mill personal injury attorney. These families need a highly skilled auto defect law firm. There are about two dozen such firms in the nation that have the expertise and resources these families need.
All of the truly qualified law firms will provide free consultations for the injured and the family of the deceased. All of us will advance the costs necessary to collect and preserve evidence. All of us will represent our clients’ interests on a contingent fee basis, meaning if we do not recover anything for our clients, they will not owe us anything.
Many times after a full engineer and biomechanical investigation and analysis, we will discover that injuries were either caused or contributed to by defects in the involved automobiles. We have found various defects and negligent designs, such as failed seatbelts, collapsing seats, faulty airbags, crushed in roofs, defective steering, suspension and braking systems. It is our job to find defects in components and systems that caused injuries or failed to minimize them.
The best firms and the run of the mill firms charge the same fee. Which do you want representing you?