TRUCK ACCIDENT FAST FACT: The United States Department of Transportation estimates that over 500,000 truck accidents occur every year.

 (Photo credit: Greg Hunt / Isanti County News)

The New York Times reports a sanitation truck accident that occurred on Tuesday night, April 19 in Brooklyn, New York. A sanitation truck driver driving on the wrong side of Grand Street in Bushwick, Brooklyn struck a Hyundai Elantra, injuring the Elantra’s 34 year-old male driver and a 57 year-old male passenger. Both were transported to Elmhurst Hospital Center. The sanitation truck driver was arrested and charged with driving while intoxicated.

The Daily Wildcat reports a tractor-trailer truck accident that occurred on Wednesday, April 20 at 3:08pm in Baiting Hollow, New York. According to Riverhead Town police, a Mack truck hauling gravel went out of control and struck a 2007 Ford minibus carrying special needs adults, killing one passenger and injuring eight. The wreck happened on Sound Avenue east, near Baiting Hollow Hill. Police closed Sound Avenue between Edwards and Fresh Pond to investigate.

The Minnesota Daily reports a fatality involving a semi truck on Thursday, April 21 just before 8:00am in the morning. A 25 year-old female college student attending the University of Minnesota was riding her bike south on 15^th Avenue when she was struck and killed by a semi truck. The semi truck struck the bicyclist as the truck driver was turning right from 15^th Avenue onto Fourth Street. The accident occurred where Fourth Street and 15^th Avenue intersect, close to a Dinkytown-vicinity McDonald’s in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

WAFF reports a four-vehicle accident involving a fire truck on Friday morning, April 22 in Huntsville, Alabama. The wreck occurred at the intersection of Jordan Lane and University Drive. A fire truck going east on University hit an SUV going south on Jordan. The SUV then struck two other vehicles. The four-vehicle accident required two people to be treated at a hospital for serious injuries.

WLKY reports that a dump truck and 2-car crash occurred west of Greenville, Indiana at Highway 150 and Highway 335. According to police, the driver of the dump truck left the scene of the accident, which occurred shortly after 9am, but was later tracked down and taken to a hospital for drug testing. Two people in the cars were taken to area hospitals to be  treated for injuries.

KARE11 reports that a state trooper was struck by a semi truck on Monday, February 21 sometime before 2pm while responding to the scene of another accident in St. Cloud, Minnesota. The trooper was inside his vehicle on I-94 near State Highway 23 when the semi truck accident occurred and he sustained injuries from the crash.

The Chicago Tribune reports that a tractor-trailer accident occurred in Goodland Township, Lapeer County, Michigan on Sunday, February 20 at 5:45pm. A northbound tractor-trailer struck an eastbound Chrysler 300M, killing one of the front seat passengers. The driver and 2 other passengers, both minors, were taken to a hospital to be treated for injuries.

The Smyrna-Vinings Patch reports that an infant died this week after being involved in a multi-vehicle accident with a tractor-trailer in Cobb County, Georgia. The incident occurred around 10pm last week on Saturday, February 12 at I-75 near Windy Hill Road exit. According to police, the driver of the 18-wheeler did not brake as he approached traffic and hit the back of a vehicle in which the infant was riding. The parents were taken to Atlanta Medical Center, while two other adults in another car were taken to Grady Memorial Hospital. The driver of the big rig has been charged with second-degree vehicular homicide and following too closely, both misdemeanors.

CBSNewYork.com reports that the driver of a landscaping company dump truck lost control and crashed head-on into a Mercedes, killing an elderly man and severely injuring his wife. The dump-truck driver, whom investigators said was under the influence of alcohol, was drag-racing another landscaping truck when he crossed the center line. A bottle of vodka was found in the truck. Police are still searching for the other truck driver, who fled. This fatal truck accident happened on Monday, November 29, on Jericho Turnpike in Syosset, New York.

MSNBC.com reports that a Greyhound bus driver was severely injured and at least 18 of his 21 passengers were hurt when the New York-bound bus rear-ended a logging truck on I-95 near St. George, South Carolina. Rescuers took several hours to free the bus driver, who was pinned by fallen logs. The logging truck driver was not hurt, and the accident is still being investigated. This truck accident happened on Tuesday, November 30, around 6 p.m.

City News Service reports that a motorist died in a crash involving a catering truck that was speeding on the eastbound I-10 in California’s San Gorgonio Pass near Indio on the evening of Wednesday, December 1. According to a CHP dispatcher, the fatal truck wreck took place near Haugen Lamen Way. It was the second of two in the pass that day. Earlier that afternoon, a fatal big-rig accident on the westbound I-10, about three miles from the later crash, snarled traffic until almost 10 p.m.

TheMonitor.com reports that two truck drivers were killed in a fiery head-on crash on Highway 16 south of Hebbronville, Texas. Both tractor-trailers were carrying petroleum products and caught fire when they collided. Police said it was unclear why the big rigs crashed. This fatal truck accident happened around 9:15 p.m. on Thursday, December 2. Part of the highway remained closed until the next morning as clean-up crews handled the spill.

Reuters.com reports that three children were critically injured and both drivers were hurt when an 18-wheeler hit a school bus in southern Louisiana on Friday, December 3. Emergency workers also evacuated 18 other kids. The truck accident happened on U.S. route 190, between Opelousas and Port Barre, as children were boarding the bus. Police said the bus driver had the red lights and stop sign activated when the big rig struck. It was unknown whether the truck driver was exceeding the speed limit.

NorthlandNewsCenter.com reports that a big rig rolled over and killed the driver of a passenger car while heading westbound on Highway 2 in Proctor, Minnesota. State patrol officers were still investigating how the semi-truck driver, who had minor injuries, rolled his 18-wheeler onto its side and caused this fatal truck accident on Sunday, December 5.

HometownAnnapolis.com reports that a Penske moving truck slammed into a box truck stopped by the side of the road on Monday, September 27, killing one man and seriously injuring three others.  The men had pulled over on westbound Route 50 east of the Cape St. Claire Road overpass (just west of Annapolis, Maryland) to fix a windshield wiper blade, just before 1pm.  The deceased died en route to the hospital from the scene of the truck wreck.

KGW.com reports that a big rig pulling two trailers killed a woman and seriously injured her husband when it crashed into their pickup truck around 7pm on Tuesday, September 28. The semi was passing the pickup in a no-passing zone on Highway 20, about 22 miles east of Burns, Oregon.  Not realizing the other truck was passing, the pickup driver tried to turn left, striking the larger truck. An Oregon State Policeman described the truck accident: “Both vehicles traveled off the south side of Highway 20 where they struck an abandoned motel, several trees, and an unoccupied pickup parked at a next-door residence.”

WBOC.com reports that a man died when a tractor-trailer T-boned the minivan in which he was traveling on Thursday night, September 30. The truck wreck happened at around 7:20pm, as the big rig pulled out onto Route 13 and Camp Road near Westover, Maryland. Two other adults and a child were injured. Authorities say alcohol may have played a role in the fatality accident, and weather may have also been a factor.

StarTribune.com reports that a semi truck slammed into another vehicle and killed two of its occupants on Sunday night, October 3. The vehicle in front was slowing down because a third vehicle was on fire by the side of the road on Interstate 94 south of St. Cloud, near the Clearwater exit. Authorities said a total of five vehicles were involved in the truck accident.

KKTV.com reports that a big rig and a Mazda sedan collided at 3pm on Sunday, October 3, resulting in serious injuries for the sedan driver.  The truck wreck happened on Highway 50 in Southeast Salida, Colorado. The injured man was not wearing his seat belt at the time of the accident. One of the big rig’s side fuel tanks tore open in the crash and spilled diesel all over the roadway.

SFgate.com reports that on Wednesday, September 8, a driver lost control of his dump truck and triggered a series of accidents that sent four people to hospitals and involved 13 vehicles. The truck accident happened in Oakland, California, as the driver was exiting I-580 via the Grand Ave. eastbound off-ramp, near where it hits MacArthur Blvd.

Effinghamdailynews.com reports that a flagman in a work zone on Illinois 1 died as he tried to flee an out-of control grain truck, also on Wednesday, September 8. The truck driver initially didn’t see a stopped car near the beginning of the work zone (around eight miles south of the Robinson-Palestine junction), and swerved away at the last minute. The flagman ran for the ditch by the roadside but the big rig also landed in the ditch, where it hit him. The flagman was airlifted to a hospital but died two hours after the truck accident.

CBS3.com reports that metal debris fell off a dump truck and hit and seriously injured the driver of a van traveling in the opposite direction. The truck accident happened on the Burlington-Bristol Bridge north of Burlington, New Jersey, around 1:30pm on Wednesday, September 8. The truck driver did not stop — he may not have realized what had happened — and was being sought by investigators. The van driver was in critical condition in a hospital in Trenton, New Jersey.

KVOA.com reports that a longtime Tucson, Arizona police officer was critically injured by a big rig on the I-10 East near Valencia on Thursday, September 9. The motorcycle officer was trying to merge into the right lane when the big rig hit him and threw him off his bike. He suffered broken bones and internal injuries and may have come to a stop under the semi after the truck accident.

WCCO.com reports that a semi truck crossed the center line and hit a car, killing its driver, on Friday night, September 10. Police said the truck wreck happened on County Road 6, west of Highway 12, in Orono, Minnesota. After the truck hit the car, it ran off the road and eventually hit a tree 150 feet away from the highway.

WLWT.com reports that a semi hit and dragged a 27-year-old girl at 3:45m after her birthday party early Saturday morning, September 12. The truck accident happened south of the Mitchell Ave. exit on I-75 South in Cincinnati, Ohio.  The woman was following a friend, who had pulled her own car over on the shoulder. As the birthday girl/victim walked to her friend’s car to talk to her, the tractor-trailer hit and then dragged her until she freed herself.  She was listed in critical condition.

Chron.com reports that a Houston MTA tow truck slammed into a pickup truck and killed its 64-year-old passenger.  The truck crash happened Tuesday, August 3, near Scott and the South Loop, after the pickup stopped suddenly for a pedestrian. The pickup’s driver was hospitalized. The tow truck driver, who failed an alcohol test after the wreck, had been cited for 19 violations since 2002, including nine for speeding. He was fired the day after the crash.

WasecaCountyNews.com reports that a cement landscaping block fell off a flatbed truck eastbound on Highway 14 near Owatonna, Minnesota, and crashed through the windshield of a westbound van, killing the 17-year-old passenger on impact. The truck accident happened on a curved section of the road on Tuesday, August 3. The same truck driver was cited last December when a block fell off his truck. In both cases, the blocks were reportedly strapped down.

DailyHerald.com reports that a dump truck’s rear wheels struck and killed a woman  early Friday, August 6. She was pushing her bike across West Main Street/Route 64 where it crosses North 2nd Street/Route 31 in St. Charles, Illinois. The trucker dragged the 69-year-old woman for a block until other drivers stopped him. She was declared dead at the scene of the accident.

BND.com reports that a tractor-trailer crashed into a U-Haul truck and pushed it into a pickup as the two smaller vehicles were slowing (or possibly stopped) in traffic. All three vehicles caught fire. An SUV behind them managed to stop before the three-way collision, but then a flatbed semi-truck pushed it into the first 18-wheeler. The five-vehicle accident happened at midday Friday, August 6, on Interstate 64 West near New Baden, Illinois. The tractor-trailer driver suffered serious injuries and landed in a St. Louis hospital, while the flatbed driver sustained minor injuries.

DGlobe.com reports that a farm truck hit and killed a motorcyclist at the intersection of 280th Street and Nystrom Avenue near Org, Minnesota, the morning of Thursday, August 5. Police at the scene of the accident were unable to tell which direction the motorcycle had been going and even what make it was, because the impact destroyed it so completely.  The intersection is known for poor visibility and reportedly has just one stop sign.

Startribune.com reports that on Tuesday, July 20, a wide-load combine towed by a semi killed a Brown University senior taking a break from her transcontinental fundraising bike ride. The woman had cycled more than 2,200 miles and was standing on the shoulder of the road, checking her voicemail, when the protruding machinery hit and killed her. The accident happened on Hwy. 18 on the Rosebud Indian Reservation in South Dakota.

KCRA.com reports that a flipped big rig caused accidents, injuries, and a huge traffic snarl when its load of PVC pipes spilled all over Highway 5 South between Woodland and Sacramento, CA. Two cars were caught up in the crash on Tuesday, July 20, as was another semi, which appeared to have been impaled by some of the pipes. Three people were taken to a hospital with minor injuries.

WVGazettemail.com reports that a semi carrying coal crossed the center line on W. Va. 61 and slammed into an SUV on Wednesday, July 21, seriously injuring the driver and his passenger, both 19. The accident happened near Beards Fork, WV. HealthNet flew both victims to a Charleston Hospital. Sheriff’s deputies believe the 26-year-old semi driver, who was not injured, was distracted when he caused the crash.

KPTV.com reports that a dump truck struck and killed a woman as she pulled out onto Highway 30 near Warren, OR, in the early hours of Thursday, July 22. She was declared dead at the scene of the crash; her sole passenger was hospitalized. The truck driver was not injured. The highway was closed for about six hours for the investigation and cleanup.

KXXV.com reports that a woman died in a collision with an 18-wheeler on Thursday, July 22, on Loop 340 in Bellmead, TX. The driver of the chicken truck was not injured. It is not clear who was at fault in the fatal crash.

DallasNews.com reports that a tractor-trailer rear-ended a passenger vehicle on the LBJ Freeway in Balch Springs, Texas, killing the 57-year-old female driver of that vehicle. The Dallas resident was pulling her Ford Thunderbird back onto the freeway after she had stopped on the shoulder and changed a flat. While police do not expect to charge the driver of the tractor-trailer, the truck accident is still under investigation.

The Daytona Beach News-Journal.com reports that a tractor-trailer rear-ended a SUV on I-95 at the State Road 44 interchange near New Smyrna Beach, Florida, causing the SUV to flip onto its roof, and killing the 60-year-old driver. A passenger in the SUV was taken to a local hospital in serious condition. Investigators report that skid marks from hard braking were visible on the roadway leading up to the area of the truck crash and that charges against the driver of the tractor-trailer are pending.

StarTribune.com reports that a pair of semi-trailer trucks and two passenger vehicles collided on I-35 near Lakeville, Minnesota, killing one driver instantly and causing the death of a second after that victim had been airlifted to a local hospital. Rescue crews responding to the truck crash struggled through swarms of bees to get to victims. The bees were being carted by one of the semi-trailer trucks involved in the wreck and were released upon impact. Fire crews were using pressurized water to control the approximately 17 million bees carried on the truck. Though early investigative work has been hindered by the difficulty of working while under attack from the bees, investigators believe that one of the semi-trailer trucks crushed into the two passenger vehicles from behind while they were stopped for road construction and pushed them into the tractor-trailer truck carrying the bees. Minnesota State Patrolmen stated that the trailing tractor-trailer truck was probably travelling at a “pretty high” speed. The driver of that tractor-trailer truck has had several driving violations, including one involving drunken driving, according to state court records.

WSMV.com of Nashville, Tennessee reports that a 59-year-old woman was killed Friday morning when the driver of a tow truck lost control on Old Hickory Boulevard and his truck entered traffic striking the woman’s vehicle. Tennessee State Police stated that speed appears to have been a factor in the fatal crash.

The Daily Herald reports that four people were injured Wednesday when a semitrailer truck struck another truck from behind and pushed it into three cars. The driver of the semitrailer truck was in critical condition following the crash, which happened at the intersection of Route 83 and Third Avenue near Bensenville, Illinois and is being investigated by The DuPage County sheriff’s office.

Minnesota’s Pine Journal reports that a Cloquet, Minnesota man was seriously injured on Tuesday when the pickup truck he was driving was rear-ended by a Freightliner semi trailer, pushing it into traffic on Highway 21 at the Carlton County Transfer Station ¾ of a mile west of Interstate 35. According to Minnesota State Patrolmen, the road was dry at the time of the crash.

Argus Oberserver reports that a man who was putting chains on his parked truck on the off ramp of I-84 near Ontario, Oregon was killed Tuesday when he was struck by a semi-truck that was attempting to pass by onto the off ramp. Oregon State Police state that the semi-truck slid into the parked truck striking two men, killing one and injuring the other.

According to Star Tribune.com a 21-year-old Fargo, ND woman was killed in a crash near Moorhead, Minnesota on Tuesday when the car she was driving was struck by a fuel tanker truck. The Minnesota State Patrol states that the crash occurred at the intersection of Highway 75 and a county road.

The North Dakota Highway Patrol states that a Freightliner semi-truck failed to yield and crashed into the driver’s side of a car on North Dakota Highway 18 on Thursday leaving three people seriously injured, according to GrandForksHerald.com. The crash occurred just north of Larimore, North Dakota.