Semi-Truck Driver Faces Charges for Causing a Six-vehicle Wreck

According to The News Tribune, a woman is in a coma after suffering serious injuries in a crash involving a semi in Lakewood, Washington, on Thursday afternoon.

Details of Semi Crash

The six-vehicle wreck occurred at the intersection of State Route 512 and Interstate 5 at around 1:45 p.m. local time. A white Prius was stopped at a red light when it was hit by a semi and pushed across the intersection and into other vehicles.

The truck driver, Jose Trinidad, 41, was traveling westbound on SR 512 when his semi hit the Prius, according to The News Tribune. The Prius smashed into a Pontiac Grand AM, forcing it into a guardrail, before hitting a pickup truck. The chain-reaction wreck caused other vehicles to receive damage as well.

Emergency crews has to extract the female driver of the Prius from her vehicle, reports The News Tribune. The woman sustained a head injury in the crash, three broken limbs, and had to be put into a medically induced coma. One other person involved in the multiple-vehicle crash was taken to the hospital with undisclosed injuries.

The News Tribune reports that Trinidad told officials on arrival that he had fallen asleep at the wheel. The responding Washington State Troopers believed he was under the influence of drugs, such as methamphetamine.

Trinidad was placed under arrest and charged with vehicular assault and reckless endangerment. The News Tribune reports that Trinidad was previously arrested in Colorado last year for possession of meth.

Trucking Accident Statistics

The following information regarding large truck accidents is provided by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA):

• In 2014, there were 3,903 traffic fatalities in crashes involving large trucks.
  • Large trucks accounted for eight percent of all vehicles involved in fatal crashes.
• 111,000 people sustained injuries in accidents involving large trucks in 2014.
  • Occupants of other vehicles made up 74 percent of the people injured in these accidents.