Man Killed in Multi-vehicle Wreck Involving 18-wheeler
According to the Valley News, a Hartford man is dead following a head-on collision with a semi in Bridgewater, Vermont, on Tuesday morning.
Details of the Fatal Trucking Accident
Robert Ammel Jr., 62, drove his Irving Oil utility truck east on Route 4 at around 7:45 a.m. when the fatal crash occurred. Susan Cadwell Brown, 56, traveled westbound on Route 4 and failed to navigate a curve. She lost control of her vehicle and entered the eastbound lanes and into the path of an 18-wheeler.
The Valley News reports that the tractor-trailer swerved into the westbound lane to avoid the vehicle, colliding head-on with Ammel’s truck. Ammel died from injuries sustained in the crash.
The driver of the semi-truck and the second vehicle suffered from minor injuries and were treated on scene. The crash is under investigation, but the Valley News reports that the roadways in the area were slick with ice at the time of the fatal wreck.
Ammel was employed by Irving Oil, and he enjoyed umpiring baseball games in the community when possible.
Trucking Accident Statistics
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), 3,903 people were killed in crashes involving large trucks in 2014. In addition,
- An estimated 111,000 people were injured in crashes involving large trucks in 2014.
- In 2014, an estimated 438,000 large trucks were involved in police-reported traffic crashes.
- Occupants of other vehicles made up 73 percent of the fatalities in large-truck related crashes in 2014.
- There was a 19 percent increase in the number of injured occupants of other vehicles involved in large-truck traffic crashes from 2013 to 2014.
- Large trucks accounted for eight percent of all vehicles involved in fatal crashes in 2014.
