Two drivers were injured and a state highway was shut down following a recent propane truck collision in unincorporated Porter County in Northwest Indiana.
On May 4, 2017, at approximately 4:51 p.m., Robert Garrett, 30, was driving his 2003 Toyota Corolla southbound on State Road 2 from Westville when he crossed the center line and collided with a 2010 International Cargo propane tanker truck heading northbound. The truck rolled over into a nearby field.
Mr. Garrett was extricated from his vehicle and helicoptered to Oak Lawn’s Advocate Christ Medical Center for “incapacitating injuries” to the leg and the arm. Police cited him for driving left of center and for driving on a suspended license.
The other driver, 66, was pinned in the overturned propane truck. He was taken to Valparaiso’s Porter Regional Hospital with shoulder and arm injuries after extrication.
Propane Truck Leaking
The truck was leaking propane because of the collision, and a HazMat team was dispatched to the scene. Authorities closed off the road for more than eight hours during the cleanup process.
Large Truck Collisions
Automobile accidents are sadly an everyday occurrence. There are more than two million crashes in the United States each year, including over 35,000 fatalities in 2015 alone. With small vehicles, many of these collisions are “fender benders,” with little visible damage and minor or no injuries. With large trucks, however, there are no such things as “fender benders”: even “small” collisions can cause big damages.
Truck collisions can be so devastating for a very simple reason: the size of the trucks themselves. Large trucks are 40 or more times heavier than the average vehicle on the road. Because of its sheer weight, when a large truck collides with a small vehicle, even at relatively low speeds, severe injuries can result. These may include broken bones, amputation of limbs, brain damage, paralysis, and even death.
These injuries can be life-altering, with a long recovery process. Thousands of dollars in medical expenses can pile up, while no money’s coming in because you’re too injured to work. At times like these, you need an experienced and dedicated attorney to fight for you. The large truck collision attorneys at GWC Injury Lawyers are an excellent choice because they have decades of success in cases exactly like these.
Large truck collisions can be more complex than other collisions because of how many parties may be involved. In addition to the driver, there is usually a commercial transport company the driver works for. There may also be another company that hired the commercial transport company to ship its goods, and possibly even other companies still. It is, therefore, crucial to identify all the parties who are potentially at fault and pursue them within the time limited by law. The failure to identify and pursue the responsible parties in a timely fashion could forever bar you from obtaining the financial compensation you deserve.
For all these reasons, you need to choose an experienced attorney to fight for you, like the truck collision specialists at GWC Injury Lawyers.
GWC prosecutes a wide variety of injury cases throughout Illinois, including those involving large truck collisions, workers’ compensation, construction accidents, medical malpractice, and product liability. If you or your loved one has been injured, because of a large truck collision or by some other means, please contact our office for a free legal consultation to see if you may be eligible for financial compensation.
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