Utah Law Talk

This morning, December 1, 2008, a UPS driver was killed when the UPS truck he was driving collided with a large dump truck in Tooele, Utah, on State Road 36. According to KSL.com, a dump truck hauling mud was proceeding northbound on State Road 36 in Tooele when the driver of the dump truck attempted to turn left onto State Road 138. Coming in the opposite direction, however, was a UPS truck driven by Alan Christofferson. The two trucks ended up colliding basically head on in this intersection, heavily damaging both of them and, sadly, killing Mr. Christofferson.

Video Courtesy of KSL.com

The impact was enough to eject the driver of the dump truck out of his truck onto the street. He is reported to have non-life-threatening injuries and was flown to the hospital. KSL.com has pictures of the crash which show the severity of the impact. One of the pictures shows the engine of one of these trucks completely detached and lying on the ground. Both cabs of the two trucks were completely demolished. The UHP reports that a citation would likely be issued. Another possibility is that the driver of the dump truck will be charged with negligent homicide.

Auto accidents involving a driver improperly making a left-hand turn are almost a daily occurrence. I reported on a motorcycle accident earlier today where the driver of a car made what sounds like an improper left-hand turn into a motorcycle. As I mentioned in that posting, the driver of a vehicle – and especially a large big-rig-type truck – has a duty to wait until the coast is clear before completing their turn. Drivers of heavy trucks, I would say, have even more of a duty to make sure they can safely turn before they begin their turn.

In this situation, it appears that the family of the deceased has a “wrongful death” claim against the driver of the dump truck and his company for this truck crash. Most commercial policies, such as the one likely to cover this dump truck, have at least one million in coverage, with many having “umbrella” policies to cover claims in excess of the policy limits.

My heartfelt condolences go out to the family and friends of Alan Christofferson.

Ron Kramer is a Utah personal injury attorney practicing in Utah, Salt Lake, Davis, Tooele and Weber Counties.

Published by: Ron Kramer

This entry was posted on Monday, December 1st, 2008 at 1:31 pm and is filed under Personal Injury, Trucking Accident, Vehicle Injury, Wrongful Death. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.