Maryland Car Accident Attorney Blog

Automobile accidents involving larger vehicles such as buses can be devastating. The mass, speed, and size of larger vehicles increase the severity of collisions, turning crashes into fatal encounters. Many people have a fundamental understanding of the risks associated with driving near larger vehicles, such as semi-trucks, but not many people just how dangerous these crashes have become. According to the statistical analysis organization Policy Advice, truck accidents have increased by 52% since 2009, and 74% of all fatal passenger vehicle accidents include large trucks. A local news article discussed a recent fatal Maryland bus crash.

According to the local news article about the Maryland crash, the accident occurred early in the morning on Thursday, August 31, 2023, resulting in one dead and eighteen injured. According to authorities, a Greyhound passenger bus was traveling eastbound on Route 32 near Interstate 95 near Savage with 38 passengers aboard around 3:30 a.m. when a Buick Enclave collided with it. The Buick Enclave was traveling westbound in the eastbound lanes at the time, going in the wrong direction. The man who was driving the Buick Enclave died at the scene. The bus driver and injured passengers were taken to area hospitals with injuries that weren’t considered life-threatening, police said.

Accidents involving buses, trucks, and other large-sized vehicles such as SUVs are more dangerous than other types of collisions for a number of reasons. Busses, especially very heavy ones such as passenger buses inherently result in more serious accidents when they are involved in crashes due to their weight, size, and speed. These features similarly make accidents involving SUVs more dangerous, as SUVs tend to be larger than sedans and other standard automobiles. Additionally, the conditions that many large vehicle drivers, such as greyhound truck operators, operate under force them to drive extreme distances, resulting in fatigue. Further, large emergency response trucks, such as fire trucks, are often driving at extremely high speeds and operating under different driving rules than ordinary traffic, creating more opportunities for accidents. Finally, commercial trucks also carry heavy cargo, complicating truck crashes and accidents.

Contributory Negligence is a legal concept that can prevent plaintiffs from receiving recovery for injuries resulting from a crash if their negligence contributed to the accident to any degree. Even if the negligence of the operator of another vehicle is in large part responsible for the accident, if the plaintiff was negligent at all, it is possible they will not be able to recover compensation. In Maryland, contributory negligence is generally interpreted very broadly, allowing extremely minor negligence by the plaintiff in personal injury cases to defeat even very strong claims.

Many people understand that there is some increase in risk when driving around trucks, but don’t fully grasp the underlying causes or percentages for those risks. Not only do many truck drivers operate under extremely difficult conditions, such as driving extremely long distances, but they often drive at night and under intense time constraints as well. Finally, commercial trucks are also potentially carrying heavy cargo, complicating truck crashes and accidents. A recent news article discussed a fatal accident involving large vehicles.

Automobile accidents involving larger vehicles are trucks can be devastating. The mass, speed, and size of larger vehicles increase the severity of collisions, turning crashes into fatal encounters. Many people have a fundamental understanding of the risks associated with driving near larger vehicles, such as semi-trucks, but not many people just how dangerous these crashes have become. According to the statistical analysis organization Policy Advice, truck accidents have increased by 52% since 2009, and 74% of all fatal passenger vehicle accidents include large trucks. A local news article discussed a recent fatal Maryland automobile crash.

According to the news article about the fatal crash, the accident occurred on Tuesday, August 1, 2023, resulting in one dead and nine injured. According to investigators, a white Mercedes SUV was traveling southbound in the northbound lanes of I-270, towards the outer loop of I-495 when it crashed into a Lexus and a Nissan Pathfinder in Montgomery County. In total, five adults in the Lexus were injured and transported by ambulance to a nearby hospital while two adults and three children were injured in the Nissan Pathfinder. The driver of the Nissan, a woman, was transported by an ambulance to a nearby hospital, where she was declared deceased. A 23-year-old man from Macon, Georgia was identified as the alleged wrong-way driver in the white Mercedes SUV. He was arrested with charges pending after initially fleeing the scene after the crash.

Maryland fatal accidents can occur for a variety of reasons. Drivers may be distracted, speeding, or even operating their vehicle under the influence. When a fatal accident occurs, the responsible driver hurts both victim and their surviving loved ones. After losing a loved one in a fatal Maryland accident, you may wish to hold the responsible party accountable through a wrongful death action.

For example, according to a Maryland State Police news report, two people lost their lives in a multi-vehicle accident. The fatal crash occurred in Prince George’s County on I-95 when a Dodge Charger in the right lane attempted to pass a tractor-trailer by moving to the middle lane. The vehicle then rear-ended a Hyundai Elantra traveling in the left lane, causing both vehicles to veer into opposite sides of the road. The Hyundai then caught fire. Sadly, the Hyundai driver and passenger died at the scene. The Dodge driver was transported to the hospital for his injuries.

One of the hallmarks of reckless driving is illegal speeding. Unfortunately, the probability of death or serious injury rises with impacts at higher speeds. According to some estimates, the risk of serious death or injury doubles for every ten miles per hour over 50 miles per hour that a vehicle is traveling. As a result, pedestrians and bicyclists struck by cars driving 40 miles per hour are eight times more likely to die than a pedestrian or bicyclist struck at 20 miles per hour. A recent news report detailed a fatal car accident.

According to the news report, the crash occurred in the evening on Tuesday, June 13, when a Mercedes, operated by a 34-year-old man crashed into a Subaru, killing a couple, and causing a third car to be hit. The two people in the Subaru were a 75-year-old man and a 77-year-old woman, both of whom were pronounced dead at the scene by emergency responders. The prosecutor in the case did not state if speed was a factor in the crash, and investigators appear to be waiting for data from the Mercedes to determine the driver was speeding. Law enforcement officials did say, however, that the Subaru had very extensive damage to the side where it was hit. The driver of the Mercedes experienced serious injuries himself and was transported to the hospital. The third car struck, a Hyundai, was also hit by the Mercedes. The driver of the Hyundai experienced minor injuries and was transported to the hospital.

The case is currently being investigated as a case of reckless driving, and the driver of the Mercedes was arrested and charged with two counts of first-degree aggravated manslaughter and two counts of second-degree vehicular homicide. He is currently being held pending a pre-trial detention hearing in Superior Court. According to the Department of Transportation, the crash shut down Route 27 for hours on Tuesday evening, as the crash occurred during rush hour.