Rear-ended and Killed by Distracted Semi Driver

If your loved one was rear-ended and killed by a distracted semi driver, our wrongful death lawyers can help you get answers, compensation and justice.

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It’s important for semi crash victims and their families to hire an experienced truck accident lawyer before getting involved in any dealings with insurance agents — especially those agents who represent trucking interests. The advances made by those insurance agents can be strong, but victims are best served by putting them off. The last thing the trucking companies want is for you to hire a legal representative who will fight for you and try to achieve the best outcome for the affected families.

Wrongful Death Semi Truck Crash

Cell Phone DrivingThere is the question of whether the commercial truck driver in this wrongful death semi-truck crash will be charged in criminal court. There’s also the question of whether the truck driver, his trucking company or other entities will be sued for the death of Mr. Peatross and for the injuries to the car’s driver. If a semi-truck lawsuit is filed, the proceedings would be in civil court, separate from any criminal charges brought by local prosecutors.

Our own law practice is not alone in seeing a rise in truck accident lawsuits resulting from distracting cell phone usage by semi-truck drivers. Attorneys Fred Pritzker and Eric Hageman investigate each case a client brings to our firm and their work is independent of law enforcement agencies. Fred and Eric often uncover information that is salient to the value of the case that is not found in police reports.

Fred and Eric have recovered tens of millions of dollars for semi-truck crash victims and for the survivors of people who die in those crashes. In three such cases recently involving negligence by truck drivers,, the dollar amounts achieved on behalf of clients were $5.1 million, $2.5 million and $2.4 million. Contact them for a free case consultation. If they agree to take your case, you owe them nothing unless and until the case is won. We can also help if a distracted truck driver hit and injured you and your children.

Father Killed in Rear-End Collision with Big Rig

Close family and friends of Landon Peatross in Utah are mourning the loss of a great father, uncle, son, co-worker, visual artist and heavy equipment operator in the aftermath of a semi-truck accident that involved distracted driving.

Funeral services for Mr. Peatross, who is survived by significant other Sandra Bowden of West Jordan, Utah, were June 3, 2017, at the Duchesne LDS Stake Center. He is being remembered as a very beloved family member who was a skilled D-9 Cat Bulldozer operator who also loved to sketch birds and spend time in the outdoors in his spare time. Landon was just 41 years old.

And according to the Utah Highway Patrol, the tractor trailer crash also had a devastating affect on the driver of the car in which Peatross was a passenger. Troopers have only identified the driver as a 40-year-old woman from West Jordan. She suffered critical injuries. The truck accident report said she was airlifted to the University of Utah Medical Center.

Multiple media outlets quoted the Highway Patrol as saying the driver of the semi truck — a big rig hauling double tankers — was distracted by his cellphone. The 18-wheeler had just crested the top of a hill and rear-ended the slower moving Saturn car that carried Mr. Peatross and the car’s driver. A photo showed that the entire back half of the car was flattened. This crash happened in the westbound lanes of U.S. Highway 40 and troopers reported that all occupants of the vehicles were wearing seat belts. The semi crash site was near the border of Wasatch and Summit counties in northern Utah. Landon’s obituary said the fatal semi-truck crash happened May 27, 2017, while he was traveling over Jordanelle on Memorial Day Weekend. His survivors include his two children and his parents.

Colonel Michael Rapich of the highway patrol says it very well in a reminder that he publishes above every weekly traffic fatality report issued by state troopers. “Remember these aren’t just numbers. They’re deaths, leaving emotional scars on lots of people, including the victims’ family and friends, others involved in the crash, and every trooper, emergency medical and incident management person who responded to the scene. Every crash death has a huge impact on our society.’’

According to Utah’s Department of Public Safety, 94 percent of deadly highway crashes are due to human choice or error. Indeed, in Utah alone, “distracted driver’’ has become one of the top five leading causes of motor vehicle traffic crash deaths. From 2012 to 2016, 108 deaths on Utah roads were caused by a distracted driver, according to the Highway Patrol. And, overall, traffic deaths in Utah have risen 28 percent since 2013.

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Category: Accidents
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