Moore Truck Driver Dies in Tulsa Accident

Jeremy Thurman — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 10:22:56 GMT

People often assume trucking lawyers are automatically against truck drivers and assume the worse. We discuss horror stories such as the devastating wreck that killed ten people on the Will Rogers Turnpike earlier this summer and wonder how someone driving a semi could be so careless. The reality is we use the wrecks to point out the dangers of negligent truck driving and warn the public and truck drivers alike of the dangers these 80,000 pound behemoths pose to motorists.

However, I wanted to use today to point out a story in which a truck driver appears to have done something truly heroic to save other motorists. According to the Norman Transcript Moore man driving a semi truck was killed in a traffic accident early Sunday morning in Tulsa. The article states that

Bruce Irvine Mathes, 54, was pronounced dead after being transported to Tulsa's St. Francis Hospital Sunday morning, according to the Oklahoma Highway Patrol.

Mathes was believed to be suffering from an unknown medical condition and lost consciousness as he was trying to pull the truck over, crashing it into a guard rail, the OHP report of the incident stated. At the time the truck was eastbound on Interstate 44 near U.S. Highway 75. The crash occurred at 1:21 a.m., the report stated.

Our prayers and thoughts go out to this man’s family. However, I wanted to point out that it appears the driver knew he ill and was attempt to save other motorist by pulling to the shoulder. I can’t state how smart and safe this act was. Many drivers might consider trying to make it to the next rest stop or next town. However, from this brief article it appears this man knew the dangers his truck posed on the highway and attempted to do the right thing.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Jeremy Thurman

New Information On Will Rogers Tractor-trailer Crash Emerging

Jeremy Thurman — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 14:09:35 GMT

According to newsok.com, new details are starting to emerge about the catastrophic crash that took place on the Will Rogers Turnpike NE of Tulsa yesterday. Oklahoma highway patrolmen are stating that:

Oklahoma Highway Patrol troopers can’t remember a worse wreck than the one that killed nine people Friday on the Will Rogers Turnpike, a spokesman said.

Even more interesting is the fact that the semi driver was 76 years old. I fully recognize that this is pure speculation on my part but one of the first thing a trucking attorney must do is analyze areas in which a Federal regulations may have been broken by the Trucking Company. As a Trucking Lawyer one of the issues we look into is whether any violations of 49 CFR Part 391.41 were broken. This rule states the following in regard to CDL "Driver Physical Requirements"

Examples of physical requirements:

Has no loss of a foot, a leg, a hand, or an arm.

Has no established medical history or clinical diagnosis of diabetes requiring insulin for control. (injection only)

Has no clinical diagnosis of any disqualifying heart disease.

Has no clinical diagnosis of epilepsy.

Has 20/40 vision or better with corrective lenses.

Has the ability to recognize the colors (red, green and amber) of traffic signals.

Has hearing to perceive a forced whisper.

Has no history of drug use.

Has no clinical diagnosis of alcoholism.

Obviously, we don’t know whether the gentleman driving this vehicle suffered from any of these conditions. However, these are areas that will be investigated by the appropriate officials as more details emerge about this catastrophic collision.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Jeremy Thurman

Oklahoma City Personal Injury Lawyer - Oklahoma Trucking Accident

Moore Truck Driver Dies in Tulsa Accident

New Information On Will Rogers Tractor-trailer Crash Emerging