Three Occupants Of Pickup Truck Die After It Collides With Tractor Trailer

Even if you love road trips so much that you take the attitude that the destination is the journey, the feeling of fear that approaches when you must pass several tractor-trailers at close range is unmistakable.  The trucks with which leisurely motorists share the highways are so big that you don’t have to calculate their weight or speed to know that you are no match for them in a collision.  Because of this, the laws determining commercial truck safety are strict.  This includes rigorous licensing requirements for commercial truck operators and rules about weighing the truck before and during the trip, as well as mandatory rest periods to prevent distracted and drowsy driving.  Despite all of these safeguards, a disproportionate number of fatal traffic collisions involve a commercial truck.  Sometimes these accidents involve one or more passenger vehicles.  If you suffered serious injuries because you were in a passenger vehicle that was in the vicinity of a truck that crashed, contact a Columbia truck accident lawyer.

Determining Liability for Accidents Involving Commercial Trucks

In February 2025, a pickup truck collided with a tractor-trailer on Highway 701 south of Pee Dee Highway.  All three occupants of the pickup truck died on the scene from injuries they sustained in the accident.  The occupants of the pickup truck were Larry Dean Capps of Myrtle Beach, Crystal Ward of Loris, and Bobby Gathings of Conway.  Capps was 56 years old, Ward was 47, and Gathings was 38.  The driver of the tractor-trailer was not injured in the collision.

When the most recent news reports were published, the accident was still under investigation, and no more details were available about how and why the two vehicles collided.  Under South Carolina’s comparative negligence laws, the surviving family members of the driver of the pickup truck have the right to file a wrongful death lawsuit even if he bore some of the fault for the accident, provided that his share of fault was less than 50 percent.  If the plaintiffs prevail in their claim, the court will reduce their damages award proportionally to the driver’s share of fault.  It is unlikely that the passengers will bear any fault for the accident.  Their relatives have the right to sue the estate of the driver if he was liable for the crash, but this is not the most likely course of action.

In accidents involving commercial trucks, the most straightforward way to recover damages is to file a claim with the commercial liability insurance company of the company that owns the truck involved in the accident.  The policy limits are usually high enough to cover all the accident-related losses, even in a wrongful death claim, without filing a lawsuit.

Let Us Help You Today

The personal injury lawyers at the Stanley Law Group can help you pursue a complaint related to a commercial truck accident.  Contact The Stanley Law Group in Columbia, South Carolina or call (803)799-4700 for a free initial consultation.

Source:

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