TRUCK ACCIDENT FAST FACT: According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, in fatal truck accidents involving large trucks and other vehicles, 98% of the fatalities occur to the people in the passenger vehicles.

The Portland Tribune reports a semi-truck accident that occurred on Friday, November 25 around 7:06am in Portland, Oregon. According to police, a 26 year-old woman was killed when her Chevy Blazer was hit by a Volvo semi-truck transporting flour. The truck was initially traveling east on Columbia when it hit a Toyota 4Runner. The impact led the truck to cross over into the westbound lanes of Columbia and into the path of the Blazer at Northeast 47nd Avenue.

Florida Today reports a tractor-trailer accident that killed one on Saturday, November 26 around 5:15pm in Volusia County, Florida. According to the Florida Highway Patrol, a motor home traveling on Interstate 95 North was struck by a tractor-trailer as the truck attempted to change lanes. The motor home struck an embankment and a fence before coming to rest near Mile Marker 274, close to the US 1 entrance ramp. A 66 year-old Titusville woman in the motor home was killed. The woman’s husband was injured. The driver of the tractor-trailer fled the scene of the accident.

The Journal Times reports an accident involving a semitrailer on Monday morning, November 28 in Racine County, Wisconsin. A representative of the Wisconsin State Patrol said a car was proceeding on Highway 20 West when a semitrailer on Highway C stopped and then entered Highway 20. The truck and the car collided, killing the driver of the car and his dog.

The Spokesman-Review reports a fatality involving a semi-truck on Wednesday, November 23 at 6:00am in Spokane, Washington. The Washington State Patrol stopped the driver of a semi-truck in the city of Wenatchee after the vehicle struck and killed a pedestrian in Spokane at the intersection of Thor and 2nd streets. Police are investigating whether the incident was a hit-and-run.

Federal and Oregon trucking regulations demand that drivers keep track of the hours they stay behind the wheel before taking a rest break. Because driver fatigue is a factor in so many truck crashes, the Oregon Department of Transportation focuses on inspecting log books to help curb Oregon truck accidents.

From October 17 – 22, ODOT trucking safety officials conducted 1,037 inspections at a number of sites on major Oregon highways. They put 231 drivers out of service, and found 49 vehicles with safety violations that put them out of service. When drivers are placed out of service, they must take a mandatory rest break or correct other safety violations before they can drive again.

In 2010, Oregon had 1,155 crashes involving commercial vehicles, with the driver at fault in 536 accidents. Only 38 crashes were the result of a truck mechanical failure.

Oregon typically has a much higher driver out-of-service rate than the national average of about 6 percent. But that’s not because the state has a disproportionate number of unsafe drivers. Oregon truck inspectors simply find more violations during regular inspections, partly due to elaborate record-keeping that lets officials thoroughly investigate any individual driver or vehicle. Inspectors are also trained to observe drivers’ behavior at weigh stations and single out those who seem tired or distracted.

WTOL.com reports a tractor-trailer accident that occurred on Sunday, October 23 around 10:37pm in Perkins Township, Erie County, Ohio. According to police, a tractor transporting a hay trailer overturned after traveling off the right of Patten-Tract Road near Bogart Road. 28 passengers were hurt and some were ejected from the trailer. Two passengers from Castalia were air lifted to Toledo for treatment. The Ohio State Highway patrol arrested the 47 year-old driver of the tractor-trailer for driving under the influence of alcohol.

KGW.com reports a semi-truck accident that occurred on Monday, October 24 in Hillsboro, Oregon. Investigators said a semi-truck transporting cars failed to stop at a stop sign and struck a train at Washington and 10^th street. Eight people were injured, seven of which were taken to a local hospital. Police said the semi-truck driver would receive a citation for failure to obey a traffic control device.

NorthJersey.com reports a dump truck accident that occurred on Monday, October 24 around 8:00am in Riverdale, New Jersey. The dump truck struck eight vehicles at the base of a hill on south Route 23 just north of Route 287 and flipped. According to the police chief, the dump truck driver said his brakes failed but an inspection disputed his statement. Five people were injured and received neck and head injuries. They were being treated at Chilton Hospital.

Your Houston News reports an 18-wheeler accident that occurred after 2:30pm on Thursday, October 20 in Cleveland, Texas. A semi truck traveling on northbound US 59 rear-ended a Dodge Ram truck that then struck a Chevy van. The accident happened on the San Jacinto River bridge. A 38 year-old male occupant of the truck was ejected and suffered major injuries to his shoulders and head. He was airlifted to a hospital in Houston and was listed in stable condition. The Michigan-based driver of the 18-wheeler received a citation for failure to control speed.

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.

CacheValleyDaily.com reports that on Tuesday evening, September 14, a freshly refueled big rig traveling north on State Road 165 ran a red light at 1200 South in Providence, Utah. It then proceeded to hit several vehicles, electrical transformers, utility poles, and a sign before blowing up. The driver was hospitalized, as was a New York State woman who suffered a broken rib and pelvis in the truck wreck. Utah Highway Patrol spokesperson says the truck driver probably faces charges.

YDR.com reports that a dump truck crashed into a tour bus carrying travel journalists on Friday, September 17, in Lower Windsor Township, Pennsylvania. The truck accident, which happened on Long Level Road at Klines Run Road, injured everyone on the bus and sent at least 10 of them to hospitals. The truck peeled away the bus wall and then dumped its load of stones onto the journalists, trapping them until neighbors and medical personnel came to their rescue.

KPTV.com reports that a Salem, Oregon, city dump truck crashed into a West Salem adult care home on Friday, September 17, injuring the driver and one of the home’s four full-time residents. The wreck occurred after the truck, which was pulling a portable toilet on a trailer, bypassed a dead-end barrier and then rolled 75 feet downhill and into the house. Police said the crash may have been triggered by a medical problem of the driver’s.

CBS2Chicago.com reports that a big rig making an illegal right turn crushed and killed a construction worker on Friday, September 17, in Forest View, Illinois. The truck accident happened on Harlem Avenue at the Stevenson Expressway. Signs were posted at the construction zone prohibiting right turns, but the driver ignored them.  His turn was too tight, and the trailer crushed the victim against a metal barricade. The victim, who died at the hospital, was struck just four minutes before the end of his shift.

LoHud.com reports that a semi truck struck and injured two state troopers at 4am on Friday, September 17, in Mamaroneck, New York.  The troopers were stopping to investigate another truck accident (a jackknifed semi blocking the center lane of northbound I-95 near Exit 18B), when a second big rig came around the curve behind them. The driver hit his brakes and started skidding; his cab crashed into another car at the scene and his trailer crushed the troopers’ cruiser. The officers sustained back and neck injuries and were released from the hospital that same day.

Keyt.com reports that an Oxnard, California, tow truck driver on drugs hit a mom and her two toddlers around noon on Tuesday, August 31. The truck accident occurred in a crosswalk at Simon Way and Vineyard Avenue in Oxnard. He dragged the kids under his truck for almost a quarter mile before bystanders flagged him down. All three victims were hospitalized, the kids in critical condition. The driver faces DUI charges.

Portlandtribune.com reports that a semi truck caused a five-vehicle chain reaction crash that seriously injured a woman early Tuesday, August 31. The big rig was heading east on Highway 224 when it encountered slowing traffic at the Johnson Road intersection near Milwaukie, Oregon. The truck rear-ended a Honda Civic, pushing it into a utility trailer towed by a van, which pushed the van into a Toyota Prius, which slammed into another Civic. The teenager in the first Civic had to be cut out by firefighters and hospitalized.

Thetandd.com reports that a southbound dump truck hit a man heading northbound on Old Gilliard Road (SC 27) in Charleston, South Carolina, around 3:45pm on Wednesday, August 31. The 30-year-old man was pinned inside his vehicle and had to be removed by the Fire Dept. He died of internal injuries that night at the hospital.

Orlandosentinel.com reports that six people were injured on Thursday morning, September 2, when an 18-foot box truck rear-ended a mass transit bus.  Both vehicles were heading west on US 192 near the Westgate shopping complex in St. Cloud, Florida. The six were hospitalized with non-serious injuries.

Deseretnews.com reports that a dump truck T-boned and killed a man on Saturday, September 4, when it ran a red light in Brigham City, Utah. The truck, which was pulling a trailer, was heading west on US 91, and the victim was heading south on 775 West. The 60-year-old victim was dead at the scene of the truck accident.

Cleveland.com reports that a big rig pulling three trailers rear-ended a passenger car heading eastbound on I-80 near Streetsboro, Ohio. The truck pushed the car into a freight truck and then into four more vehicles before a concrete barrier brought the disaster to a halt. The car went up in flames, and the driver was killed on the scene. Her teenage sons were hospitalized in critical condition. This truck accident happened just before noon on Monday, August 16.

Heraldonline.com reports that a truck driver died and two women were hospitalized on Monday, August 16, when a tanker truck carrying gasoline flipped, crashed, and burst into flames on I-77 South near Fort Mill, South Carolina. In the crash, the truck hit and landed on a sedan, but the two women in it were pulled from the wreckage and sent to a Rock Hill hospital. They were released the same day.

Oregonlive.com reports that a tractor-trailer loaded with wood chips on US 101 North lost control and slid across the opposing lanes, hitting a Ford Focus, then pushing a Nissan Sentra into a guardrail before crashing into a scenic pullout north of Florence, Oregon. The truck crash, which happened Wednesday, August 18, at about 10:15am, sent a pregnant woman and her husband (in the Focus) to the hospital, shook up a Swiss tourist (in the Sentra), and dumped a mountain of wood chips onto the highway.

Floridatoday.com reports that just before 2am on Thursday, August 19, a dump truck heading north on I-95 suffered a tire blowout, lost control, and crossed the median before coming to rest in the southbound roadway. The driver and a passenger managed to get out, but minutes later, a van hauling motorcycles slammed into the truck. That driver died on impact.  No skid marks were found, suggesting that he never even saw the dump truck. This deadly truck wreck happened on southbound Interstate 95 north of Stuckway Road in Mims, Florida.

Chicagotribune.com reports that a tractor-trailer rear-ended a Corvette on Chicago’s Bay Bridge westbound just before 5pm on Friday, August 20. The car driver was Medevacked to a local ER with non-life-threatening injuries.

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.

The Western Star reports that a semi-truck swerved in front of a passenger vehicle on Interstate 71 at the 36 mile marker near the Jeremiah Morrow Bridge in Lebanon, Ohio, causing the passenger vehicle to swerve, roll over and crash on the median and resulting in the hospitalization of the vehicle’s 23-year-old female driver. Troopers with the Ohio State Highway Patrol cited the driver of the semi-truck for an unsafe lane change.

NorthWest Herald.com reports that a semi-trailer crossed the center line on Route 14 near Harvard, Illinois, causing a motorist travelling in the opposite direction to have to swerve at which point that vehicle collided head-on with a second semi-trailer. The driver of the passenger vehicle was killed instantly in the crash. The driver of the first semi-trailer left the scene. Investigators with the McHenry County Sheriff’s Office Traffic Crash Investigations Unit are seeking that driver for questioning.

CBN.com reports that a semi-truck crashed up and over the front of a van carrying a church group on Highway 92 near Williamsburg, Kentucky, sending a pastor, his wife and several young people to area hospitals. Kentucky State Police are continuing their investigation of the truck accident that left the church van totaled and sent seven people to the hospital.

KPTV.com reports that a semitrailer and a passenger vehicle collided on I-5 near Seaside, Oregon leaving the driver of the passenger vehicle with extensive injuries. Washington State Patrol troopers responding to the scene initially reported that the passenger vehicle rear-ended the semitrailer, but the driver of the passenger vehicle disputes that claim. The driver states that the semitrailer cut him off and that his vehicle was sucked up under the semitrailer and dragged 400-600 yards down the interstate. Paramedics arrived on the scene and rushed the man to the hospital. Due to the conflicting accounts of the truck crash, Washington State Patrol investigators are continuing to investigate.