When I read about the terrible New York State Thruway multi-vehicle accident at 5:00 a.m. this morning in Manchester, Ontario County, New York, near my home in Geneva, New York, the human injury toll shocked and saddened me.
Here’s how it happened: A dump truck driver, who was performing some construction work on the Thruway, tried to drive under the County Route 7 overpass eastbound with his truck box raised. Unfortunately, the top of the truck box was higher than the overpass, so it struck the overpass, dislodged from the truck, and landed on the roadway.
A few minutes later, a passenger van, carrying two adults and eight children, tried to avoid the box, but sideswiped it instead, causing an accident. Moments later, an SUV, carrying three adults and four children, ran over the box, causing a second accident. It was still dark out, so apparently the box lying in the roadway was not very visible. Two of the children were airlifted to Strong Memorial Hospital in Rochester, and the others were brought by ambulance to other nearby hospitals.
I am used to hearing about horrific New York State car accident injuries because it is my job to represent car crash victims in Ontario County and beyond. But the human injury toll in this accident shocked even me. After my initial shock and sadness, I thought of some “good” sides to this story. First, luckily there were no deaths Second, there will almost certainly be plenty of insurance coverage for all the victims. How do I know? From my years of experience as a New York car accident attorney. Let me explain.
You see, it appears obvious that the dump truck driver either drove the truck without noticing that his truck box was raised, or else he thought he could pass through the underpass with it raised. Either way, he was negligent and thus is legally liable for this accident. Further, the owner of the dump truck and the driver’s employer, the construction company, are also “vicariously” liable, under New York State auto accident law, for the driver’s negligence. And, from my years of experience, I can tell you that construction companies almost always have lots of liability insurance coverage.
Good thing the construction company is going to be liable for these injuries, because with so many people injured, lots of insurance coverage will be needed.