When a vehicle malfunction occurs, the consequences can be devastating. This was the case on Interstate (I-85) South in Brunswick, Virginia (VA) when a tractor trailer that was carrying two people had a left front axle break. This caused the truck to run off the road and hit multiple trees.

Tragically, the two people in the trailer were killed when the vehicle burst into flames, according to NBC12.com. The burns were so bad that the bodies could not be immediately identified.

There are many questions that need to be answered about this terrible truck crash. What exactly caused the axle to malfunction? Could this problem extend to the model of tractor trailer involved in the wreck? We’ll have to wait and see what the accident investigation reveals.

I want to send my deepest condolences to the families of the two people killed in this truck accident. Losing someone close to you is never easy, but having it happen in such a sudden and terrible manner is heartbreaking.

About the Editors: Shapiro, Cooper Lewis & Appleton is a law firm which focuses on injury and accident law and our attorneys have experience handling truck accident cases. Check out our case results to see for yourself. Our primary office in based in Virginia Beach, Virginia (VA) although our lawyers hold licenses in NC, SC, WV, KY, FL and DC. We are ready to talk to you by phone right now—we provide free initial confidential injury case consultations, so call us toll free at 1-800-752-0042. Our injury attorneys also host an extensive injury law video library on Youtube . Furthermore, our lawyers proudly edit the Virginia Beach Injuryboard and Norfolk Injuryboard as a pro bono public information service.

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The big rig crashed around 11:30 a.m. that morning and an entire section of I-85 was closed for several hours while first responders and firefighters cleaned up what was left of the car. Eyewitnesses on the scene reported that the car caught fire on impact. Authorities said that the person in the car that was struck by the semi truck was killed instantly. Officials had not revealed the identity or gender of the victim.

Did you know that every 16 minutes, a person is killed or sustains injuries in accidents involving 18-wheelers, tractor-trailers or semi-trucks? In fact, just in the year 2001 alone, some 429,000 large trucks were involved in traffic crashes (both fatal and minor) in the United States. Of those truck wrecks:

• 4,793 were involved in fatal crashes
• 5,082 people died
• 131,000 were injured

The trucking injury attorneys with Shapiro, Cooper Lewis & Appleton personal injury law firm are based in Virginia (VA), with an office also in Elizabeth City, in Northeast North Carolina (NC), practicing primarily in the southeastern U.S. and handles only injury law, including car, truck, railroad, and medical negligence cases and more. Our Virginia injury law website is www.HSInjurylaw.com and our Carolina injury law website is: http://carolina.hsinjurylaw.com, the firm edits the injury law blogs Virginia Beach Injuryboard, Norfolk Injuryboard, as well as the Northeast North Carolina Injuryboard and also hosts a YouTube injury law video library with over 50 videos covering many FAQ’s on personal injury subjects. Lawyers licensed in: VA, NC, SC, WV, DC, KY.

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The victim, Bates, crashed his tractor-trailer into the back of another tractor-trailer causing a rear-end collision at mile marker 141 on Interstate 81 South at approximately 10 a.m. Virginia police reported that the first truck had stopped for an earlier crash.

During the maelstrom both directions of I-81 were closed for almost an hour and Virginia’s Department of Transportation closed the Virginia 419 bridge over I-81 until a VDOT inspector was able to declare it safe.

At one point a traffic backup of nine miles long was reported in the southbound lane as mentioned by VDOT. The bulk of the traffic was detoured off the interstate, diverting a heavy flow of vehicles onto Interstate 581, Peters Creek Road, and West Main Street in Salem.

Danger and trouble rides beside you each day as you share the road with these 18 wheelers. I understand that truckers need to make a living, but it is usually the big companies they work for to blame. A recent official report gathered by just one state’s DOT (Michigan) showed only 2 percent of trucking companies are being inspected routinely. The question you need to ask yourself is: How many more rogue companies and unqualified drivers are there?  Have you stopped to consider that as the economy continues to struggle, the easiest decision for financially strapped trucking operations is to cut costs in safety and maintenance? What will the already overstretched federal and state investigators do to contend with the ever expanding unscrupulous trucking companies trying to get away with these unsafe practices?

Shapiro, Cooper Lewis & Appleton personal injury law firm is based in Virginia (VA), with an office also in Elizabeth City, in Northeast North Carolina (NC), practicing primarily in the southeastern U.S. and handles only injury law, including car, truck, railroad, and medical negligence cases and more. Our Carolina injury law website is: http://carolina.hsinjurylaw.com, the firm edits the injury law blogs Virginia Beach Injuryboard, Norfolk Injuryboard, as well as the Northeast North Carolina Injuryboard and also hosts a YouTube injury law video library covering many FAQ’s on personal injury subjects. Lawyers licensed in: VA, NC, SC, WV, DC, KY.

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Virginia State Police responded to I-81 at mile marker 234, south of the Weyers Cave exit during the lunch hour on reports of two accidents. According to the police, the first accident involved three cars and a tractor-trailer causing the left lane of northbound traffic to be completely blocked. With more details to follow it was reported that at least one person was taken away by ambulance.

However, in the right lane an 18 wheeler that came to a stop for the first collision was then hit from behind by a second big rig, according to Trooper C.J. Szupinka. The truck driver who failed to stop, Ronny E. Hall, of Troy, Ala, has been charged with reckless driving.

At least two other vehicles had to drive off I-85 to avoid further crashes. Roane and deputies responded for traffic control, as dozens of drivers chose to cut across medians, turn around in maintenance cut-throughs and back down entrance ramps. Drivers were hitting just about every crossover, and in particular crossing the median at about the 230 marker according to troopers. At least one driver was charged with trying to avoid accident traffic.

Eighty-two percent of all fatal truck crashes involved at least one other vehicle, usually a passenger vehicle. Of the 409,000 police-reported crashes involving a large truck in 2001, 4,431 resulted in at least one person being killed and another 86,000 resulted in at least one person being injured.

Shapiro, Cooper Lewis & Appleton personal injury law firm is based in Virginia (VA), with an office also in Elizabeth City, in Northeast North Carolina (NC), practicing primarily in the southeastern U.S. and handles only injury law, including car, truck, railroad, and medical negligence cases and more. Our Carolina injury law website is: http://carolina.hsinjurylaw.com, the firm edits the injury law blogs Virginia Beach Injuryboard, Norfolk Injuryboard, as well as the Northeast North Carolina Injuryboard and also hosts a YouTube injury law video library covering many FAQ’s on personal injury subjects. Lawyers licensed in: VA, NC, SC, WV, DC, KY.

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