Chicago-bound truck driver pleads guilty in accident

 Posted on December 00, 0000 in Truck Accidents

The victims of a trucking accident from last fall may finally feel like the criminal justice system provided some closure for them. A semi-truck driver recently pleaded guilty to the charge of felony reckless driving. The charge comes from a fatal accident that occurred last year. The accident injured a number of people and killed one man.

The 67-year-old truck driver admitted in court that he had ignored several warning signs on the road that he was about to enter a work zone. The driver&s negligence caused his truck to crash into a row of cars that were stopped due to the road construction. He was en route to Chicago in order to pick up cargo for his employer.

The man pleaded guilty to reckless driving causing death. The charge has a potential prison sentence of up to 15 years. The sentencing is scheduled for the end of March and the driver is out on bond until that time. The guilty plea was part of an agreement with prosecutors, who decided to drop another charge of reckless driving causing bodily injury.

According to the local sheriff&s office, the first impact between the semi and the front car caused a chain reaction of crashes that included a motorcycle and five other vehicles. A 75-year-old man was driving the car that the semi-truck driver initially hit. The man did not survive the crash. His wife was travelling with him at the time. She was transported to a hospital to treat her injuries. Four other individuals were also transported to a hospital for treatment of injuries.

Warning signs were posted for over a mile of the highway before the beginning of the work site. Traffic was stopped at the time of the accident, because travel had been reduced to just one lane. Signals on the road instructed drivers as to how to move through the zone.

The end of a criminal trial in car accidents and truck accidents may be just the beginning of the civil process. Injured victims may be able to bring a civil lawsuit against the driver or person responsible for the accident. The injuries sustained by survivors may require lengthy hospital stays and expensive treatment, while the families of those who pass away may be left with significant bills and lost wages. Victims hurt physically and emotionally after an accident, but it does not have to follow that they suffer financially, as well.