On Friday, November 17, a trucker lost all power to his brakes and plowed into nine vehicles. Eleven people were injured, and nine were transported to the hospital with injuries. Mercifully, no one was killed – but it could have been far, far worse.
According to police chief Roch Kujava – who has been an officer in Churchill since the late 70s – this is the worst crash he’s ever seen.
“We’re very lucky,” explained Kujava. “The size of the vehicle, the tractor hitting these cars, we’re very lucky we didn’t have any fatalities. People are injured, but hopefully, they’ll be okay.”
To his credit, the driver was cooperative. He spoke to investigators and was open about what happened in the minutes leading up to the incident. Likelier than not, he isn’t the one at fault.
Rather, it’s his employer – Hinkle Trucking, based in Riverton, W.Va. The firm had a conditional safety rating, to begin with (meaning it wasn’t up to compliance standards). Not only that, it has been involved in ten crashes in the past two years, five of which involved injuries.
Finally, it has a record of multiple traffic violations, including speeding and reckless driving.
Yet in spite of all these safety issues, the company is still in business. In spite of the fact that it’s evidently refused to comply with multiple safety regulations, it still has drivers on the road. Why, exactly?
And what can we do to stop other companies like Hinkle – and make no mistake, there are others – from showing the same callous disregard for road safety that they have?
I’ve no doubts that investigators will be contacting the company’s ownership. I’ve also no doubts that unless the firm is hit with some serious penalties, they’re not going to bother cleaning up their act. In all honesty, even if they are penalized, I still have my doubts.
Until something can be done about organizations like Hinkle Trucking, all we can really do is be ready for the possibility that we or one of our loved ones might be involved in a catastrophic collision. All we can really do is have a plan. And that’s where Bormaster Law comes in.
We’ve got a long history of taking trucking companies who don’t practice proper safety to the task. We’ll do everything it takes to ensure that firms like this one don’t get away with cutting corners, especially where it causes grievous injury or death. More importantly, we aren’t in it for the money – we’re in it to help our clients..
You don’t pay a cent unless we win your case. Consultations are free. Contact us today to chat.
Let us help you take back your life – and hold yet one more corrupt agency accountable for its misdeeds.
R.B. Bormaster & Associates, P.C.
2425 Fountain View, Ste. 300,
Houston TX 77057
Phone: (800) I -Am-Hurt(713) 714-4000
Fax: (281) 652-5886
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