Orlando 18-Wheeler Driver Involved in Fatal Florida Bus Accident
An Orlando trucker, who was at the wheel of an 18-wheeler that rear-ended a school bus in a fatal accident in Florida last September, was arrested last week. Reinaldo Gonzalez has been charged with vehicular homicide for the accident that killed a 13-year-old school girl.
Last year on September 23rd, a North Marion Middle School bus from Marion County was stopped on U.S. 301 to drop some children off. Gonzalez's 18-wheeler rear-ended the bus, dragging it 200 feet before both vehicles burst into flames. 21 students were trapped inside the bus; all made it out of the engulfed bus safely except for Francis Schee. She was sitting at the back of the bus and was killed instantly.
Gonzalez, who was on his way from Jacksonville to Groveland, later admitted to investigators that he was on his cell phone just before the accident. However, he failed to specify when he hung up the phone or if he hung it up at all. Investigators believe he may have been on the phone at the time of the accident. In addition, he had been traveling for many hours just before the crash.
Either Gonzalez was tailgating, which is why he failed to stop in time to avoid the accident, or he was distracted by his cell phone and was not able to respond in time to avoid a crash. In either case, he was driving recklessly and indulging in foolish driving behavior that increased his risk of an accident. Truck accident lawyers frequently see the devastating consequences of such behavior.
Truck Accident Safety
18-wheeler drivers must keep sufficient distance between their truck and the truck in front of them. An 18-wheeler takes a much longer time to come to a complete stop than an ordinary passenger vehicle. If Gonzalez was using a cell phone at the time of the crash, he was exposing himself and others to serious risk. The danger posed by an 18-wheeler driver who uses his cell phone behind the wheel was the force behind Heathers Law, a bill that will ban cell phone use by motorists in Florida. It is named for Heather Hurd who was killed in a truck accident in which the driver was text messaging rather than focusing on the road. Currently, Florida has no law banning any kind of cell phone use.
If you have been injured in a truck accident or a loved one has been killed, experienced truck accident attorneys can help you recover physically, mentally, and financially. Contact a truck accident lawyer at Arnold & Itkin LLP for a free evaluation of your case.
Driving classes for teens do not normally include tips on how to be safe when sharing the road with big rigs that can reach 53 feet in length and up to 80,000 pounds in weight. Teaching these teens that an 18-wheeler driver may face driving challenges that can impact other vehicles on the road is extremely important. For instance, apart from .jpg)
The driver of the tractor trailer, Texas resident Richard Widmier, was arrested. He faces charges of third degree assault, criminally negligent homicide, reckless driving, and failing to provide proof of insurance.
FBI agents stumbled on the connection about five years ago during a case involving a series of murders on highways in several states. Those murders were ultimately traced to an 18-wheeler driver. Soon after, the agency established the "Highway Serial Killing Initiative’’ to monitor suspected truck drivers. The FBI currently has a database of dozens of truckers who have been either charged with or suspected of murder or rape. More than 500 victims, mostly female prostitutes, have been murdered near highways.
It would prevent both interstate highways and national highways from being used by triple trailers, although exemptions would be made for firefighting units and the like.
Ken Truman works for Con-Way Freight Company, which currently employs 1,200 drivers. According to management, completing two million miles without being involved in a single accident is a key milestone in the industry. Truman's two million miles is equivalent to traveling to the moon and back 9 times.
According to TxDOT officers at the scene, the presence of cable barriers prevented the bus and the truck from crossing over onto the eastbound lanes of Interstate 10 after the crash. If the two vehicles had indeed crossed over into the eastbound lanes they would have, most likely, collided with other vehicles, increasing the number of and severity of injuries.
Skelding set off on his custom built wagon on July 28th from Dearfield. He traveled through several states in his wagon drawn by 4 Percheron horses, two of which were killed in the accident. Now, Skelding is focusing on getting back on his feet. Local communities in Macon, Mississippi are setting up fundraising drives for Skelding's expenses as well as the treatment costs for the two surviving horses.
A major disaster was averted by rescue crews after one of the 18-wheelers involved in the accident began leaking fuel. That truck contained 1,000 gallons of fuel, all of which had to be emptied from the truck before the highway could be reopened. According to Utah Highway Patrol officers, the roads were slick and slippery due to a snow storm earlier that day. Officers are pointing to this as the most likely cause for the accident.