In October 2013, a tanker truck loaded with 8,500 gallons of gasoline turned over, slid into a pickup truck, exploded and then collided with another truck on Interstate 81 in Smyth County. According to Virginia State Police, two men were killed instantly: the tanker truck driver (48-year-old Frank Skeens of Castlewood) and the pickup truck driver (30-year-old Trevor Blankenship of Lebanon). The third truck driver, whose name was not immediately released, died en-route to the hospital. A section of Interstate 81 will remain closed for an unspecified time, as authorities assess the condition of the pavement in the wake of the intensity of the explosion and fire.
Catastrophic injuries
Large truck accidents, and particularly tanker-truck accidents, frequently involve catastrophic injuries to the people inside the vehicles. A Virginia personal injury lawyer can help you obtain fair compensation for:
- Death: The sudden and untimely death of a loved one can be one of the most severe financial and emotional blows a family can be asked to endure.
- Dismemberment: Especially in a high-speed collision on a freeway, a person’s limbs are vulnerable and prone to being crushed or severed.>
- Spinal injury: A blow to the spine can cause partial or total paralysis and confine the victim to a bed or wheelchair.
- Brain injury: While the vehicle-to-vehicle impact causes most or all of the property damage, the collision inside the vehicle (when the victim’s head hits the windshield or door) causes most or all of the personal injury.
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