The stakes are high in a collision between a passenger vehicle and a tractor-trailer. Because of its mass, a tractor-trailer can exert much more force when the two vehicles collide. Sometimes the force is sufficient to move the passenger vehicle in an unexpected direction.
Recently, a tractor-trailer on U.S. Highway 74 in North Carolina sent one vehicle over the edge of a bridge and struck six others. Authorities charged the driver with reckless driving. Though there was no report of any life-threatening injuries, two people went to the hospital as a result of the crash.
Parting the line
The accident occurred in the afternoon when the tractor-trailer came over the hill where traffic had backed up significantly. There was a line of cars stopped at the light near the bridge over Buffalo Creek. Law enforcement compared the scene of the truck plowing through the cars as it made its way down the middle of the road to a bulldozer in a movie. The force of the collision forced one of the vehicles over the edge of the bridge. It came to rest in the creek itself.
Hospitalizations but no serious injuries
While it is unclear how many occupants the vehicle that went over the bridge contained, there were at least two who required transportation to a local hospital. Details about their conditions are unknown, but authorities report no major injuries resulting from the collision.
The occupants of all the vehicles involved, not just the one that went off the bridge and into the creek, are fortunate to have sustained no major injuries. It is often the case that people involved in a collision between a large commercial vehicle and a smaller passenger one suffer injuries that are not only serious but potentially life-threatening.