New Orleans Truck Accidents News

A collision with a parked car usually isn’t that serious. Many a first accident has happened in a parking lot. But when the parked car is a semi, physics takes over and the damage can be deadly, like it was in this recent case reported by WWL. The police say that two women were driving on Chef Menteur Highway in the wee hours of the morning. For reasons unknown, they swerved off the road and hit the back of a parked 18-wheeler trailer. The crash was so severe that investigators weren’t able to tell which of the victims was the driver. One was killed in the crash and the other is in stable condition. It is unknown why the trailer was parked on the side of the road. The huge weight of these vehicles makes hitting them like striking a building, but there is another factor that makes it worse. The height of the trailer can let the front of a car slip underneath far enough that the trailer hits the windshield directly. This bypasses many safety features and creates deadly situations like this one. If you’ve ever wondered why that extra bar hangs off the back of a semi trailer, now you know that it’s just not for stepping up to open the door. It’s to help keep cars that rear-end 18-wheelers from slipping under the back.

Police chases are dangerous, but sometimes they are necessary to apprehend dangerous suspects. A recent delivery truck theft caused police to chase a suspect from the French Quarter to Metairie. ABC 17 reports. A driver from New Orleans Fish House made a stop at a hotel to make a delivery on Iberville Street. A woman jumped behind the wheel and stole the truck during the delivery. Police started to chase the vehicle. The chase ended in Metairie when the truck crashed. There have been reports that shots were fired during the chase and that the thief fought with police before she was arrested. An ambulance arrived and checked everyone for injuries before the accident was cleaned up. Had a bystander crashed as well in the incident, things would be even worse for the suspect. Police chases usually go at high speeds and involve risky driving to stop a suspect before they can get away. This puts the public at risk for accidents. Sometimes it’s even the police’s fault for the crash. If you are tangled up in a police chase and you were a bystander, you should speak with a personal injury attorney to help you with the insurance claims process.

Mardi gras krewes are reflecting on the recent accidents that killed two people during this year’s Carnival celebrations and considering how things might need to change in the future. UNO Driftwood reports. Two people died after falling between tandem floats this year as they attempted to reach for things thrown by the float riders. Krewe riders were nervous this year about the huge crowds pushing and competing for souvenirs or retrieving fallen goods near the floats. There hadn’t been a float-related death since 2008. Krewes know that something needs to change. Soft items do not fly as far as strings of beads, which makes them fall closer to the wheels. The krewe member interviewed in the article says they saw several kids diving close to the wheels to get things. One suggestion by him says that guard rails installed along the floats to protect the wheels combined with sensors to notify drivers when they’re struck may be a good first step toward keeping the crowds out of danger. Another possibility is limiting the number of soft goods thrown, but the softer items are among the most sustainable. There have been complaints about the waste left behind after Carnival celebrations and the sustainability of throws. Considering that both deaths this year were due to tandem floats, one of the first changes might be to remove this kind of float entirely from the festivities, at least until krewes can prove to city officials that they are safer.

The civil court system is meant to help people receive compensation after they have been injured in some way. But sometimes people try to defraud the system by faking accidents. Five people have pleaded guilty to faking truck crashes in the New Orleans area in federal court. TTNews.com has the story. They were accused of participating in a two-year conspiracy to stage accidents with tractor-trailers in an attempt to defraud trucking companies and insurance companies. These five took plea deals. Three others were not given the option. Two attorneys were also involved, but not indicted in the scheme. The people injured sought hundreds of millions of dollars. One even underwent neck surgery after their attorney said they’d get more compensation if they did it. The two accidents involved in the case happened in June of 2017 in the New Orleans area. The attorneys for Covenant Transportation Group believed at the time that the accident they were involved in was staged and spent three months gathering evidence before giving it to the FBI. After investigation, the federal government went ahead with charges. Sadly, there seems to be a rash of fake accidents against trucking companies in the New Orleans area lately. People who do this hurt the entire system. Lawsuits are meant for people with legitimate injury, not looking for a quick cash grab.