Tractor-trailers pose a real danger to other drivers during winter.
Monday’s heavy, wet snow wreaked havoc on our roads across the Twin Tiers, from the Finger Lakes, Bath, Hornell and Corning to Elmira, Horseheads, Big Flats, Waverly and Sayre.
It was a wild day to be on our highways, with a passenger killed and a driver injured in a Steuben County crash Monday evening.
Yesterday’s weather-related mayhem highlights what is often an understated problem in our area – collisions involving tractor-trailers, buses and other big commercial vehicles. Because we regularly handle trucking accident cases, we know all too well the tragic consequences of these types of collisions.
When 40,000- or 60,000- or even 80,000-pound trucks lose control, people’s lives are altered forever. Give these vehicles a wide berth when travelling our highways. While many truckers are responsible, alert and take their job seriously, there are many others driving more hours than they are allowed to and operating trucks that are not properly maintained.
The Star-Gazette and WETM-TV highlighted the mess drivers faced yesterday. According to their reports:
- A 69-year-old Illinois woman was killed in a two-vehicle collision on Interstate 86 in the town of Fremont in Steuben County shortly before 6 p.m. Monday. She was a passenger in a car that clipped another vehicle on the road and spun off the road and rolled over. She was trapped under an overturned vehicle on the shoulder of the road. The 79-year-old driver was hospitalized with multiple injuries.
- A collision involving a tractor-trailer and car between Wellsburg and Ashland led to westbound Interstate 86 traffic being rerouted to state Route 427, Cedar Street and Clemens Center Parkway. The Elmira Fire Department responded with an engine. “There were I don’t know how many wrecks on the highway,” Elmira Fire Chief Patrick Bermingham told the Star-Gazette. “I heard a dozen of them dispatched during the time we were out there.”
- A jackknifed tractor-trailer closed Exit 44 on Interstate 86 in Painted Post for hours Monday.
- Chemung emergency personnel were also busy between Wilawana, Pa., and Exit 57 on State Route 17, Bermingham said. Westbound I-86 also was closed near the Waverly exit about 4:50 p.m.
- Crashes were also reported near Wellsburg, Ashland, Elmira, Big Flats, Waverly and Veteran, the Star-Gazette reported.
Thanks for reading, and remember to use extra care on our roadways during winter. And if possible, steer clear of trucks!
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ZiffLaw Attorney, Esq.
NY and PA Injury and Accident Attorney
The Ziff Law Firm, LLP
303 William Street
Elmira, NY 14901
Phone: (607)733-8866
Fax: (607)732-6062
Email: info@zifflaw.com
www.zifflaw.com
