North Carolina trucker charged in deadly tanker crash

If you drive about 100 miles northwest of Fayetteville, you will arrive in High Point – the only North Carolina city that extends into four different counties. The city of more than 100,000 residents was recently the site of a violent commercial truck accident that took the life of a 47-year-old local man.

According to a state trooper, the tanker truck veered across the center of the road, where it sideswiped a pick-up truck’s trailer before slamming head-on into an SUV. The SUV then struck a van.

The driver of the SUV was pronounced dead at the scene of the chain-reaction crashes. The van’s driver reportedly sustained non-life-threatening injuries, while the truck driver sustained injuries deemed serious.

The trucker has also been arrested and charged with misdemeanor death by motor vehicle, misdemeanor possession of drug paraphernalia and with driving left of center.

The news report on the tragedy does not state if law enforcement officials believe the truck driver was high at the time when his commercial vehicle crossed into oncoming traffic.

As most regular readers of our Fayetteville personal injury blog know, impaired drivers are one of the leading causes of vehicle crashes that result in serious injuries and fatalities.

Most abused substance: weed

According to the National Institute for Drug Abuse website, marijuana is, after alcohol, the most abused substance in impaired driving crashes. Cannabis slows reactions, alters perceptions of time and distance and diminishes users’ coordination.

Research shows that that drivers high on marijuana pay less attention to the road and have increased frequency of lane-weaving.

Millions driving while impaired

According to the National Survey on Drug Use and Health taken in 2018, about 20 million Americans drove under the influence of alcohol that year and about “12.6 million drove under the influence of illicit drugs.”

If you or a loved one has been harmed by a driver who was impaired by alcohol, drugs or both, contact a Fayetteville attorney experienced in personal injury and wrongful death litigation.