In early September, two motorists died in an accident after their vehicle was caught underneath a semi-truck that caught fire.
Early on September 3rd, police and firefighters responded to the scene of an accident that occurred just after midnight. Emergency calls to police reported that there was a semi-truck that had caught fire on the highway.
It was not until police and firefighters were working to put the fire out that they noticed what looked like another vehicle stuck underneath the semi-truck. The Assistant Fire Chief said that the fire was so bad and the vehicle was so badly mangled by the flames that it was very difficult to distinguish it from the truck. He said “There was no license plate that we could see. It was even hard to tell what kind of vehicle it was. In fact, I think (officials) still don’t know exactly what kind of vehicle it was.” But police did find two people inside the vehicle and confirmed that they were dead.
The two individuals who were discovered inside the badly burned car underneath the semi-truck were so badly burned that police would have to rely on dental records to identify them. From the autopsy, it was discovered that the passenger died as a result of thermal injuries from the fire and blunt force head trauma and that the driver died from several serious injuries sustained in the impact of the collision.
The police department reported that the semi-truck driver sustained only minor injuries and he escaped the vehicle before the flames overwhelmed the rig. The man told officials that his truck caught on fire after it jack-knifed but he had no idea that he had even hit another car. Emergency medical personnel treated him at the scene of the accident.
A witness to the crash said that before the accident they could see what appeared to be a Pontiac driving on the highway with no headlights on, slowly, but with its hazard lights on.
Police knew very little else about the circumstances that lead to the accident. But they do know that the fire created a very dangerous situation when the fuel tanks on the semi ruptured during the blaze and burning diesel fuel spilled out onto the highway and then leaked into drain pipes along the roadway.
After firefighters were able to extinguish the fiery wreckage, police called in a HAZMAT team to deal with the mess that the spill had caused and notified the Department of Transportation that they would need extra help with the cleanup. It was not until 6 a.m. that lanes were reopened.
Missouri Truck Accident Lawyer
If you or a loved one has been injured in a tractor-trailer truck accident in Missouri, contact a Missouri truck accident attorney at The Hoffmann Law Firm, L.L.C. to discuss your legal options. These accidents can be devastating for families and can easily result in fatalities. You deserve to have your legal rights protected and to get access to the compensation that you deserve. Call us today at (314) 361-4242.