In what appears to be a freak accident, a diner patron who always sat in the same booth has lost his life after a tractor-trailer plowed into the restaurant. Truck accidents like this one may be impossible to predict, but what seems certain is that a family is now left behind to mourn the loss of their loved one. The man’s son, who works for a Missouri city’s police department, said that he immediately knew that his dad had been injured when he heard about the accident.

He stated his feeling came from the fact that he knew where his father always chose to sit in the diner, as well as where the truck struck the restaurant. While he was off duty at the time of the crash, another person contacted him with the concern that he might have been working the accident which fatally wounded his father. Once the son went to the scene and saw the accident, he became sure that his father was inside the wreckage. He said that it doesn’t yet seem real to him that his father is actually gone.

Three other Missouri residents were also injured in the horrific collision. Initial reports indicated that it occurred when a car took off from a stop sign and veered directly into the path of a semi. That truck attempted to avoid a collision with the car, only to plow into the restaurant instead. That decision to evade the car ultimately claimed the life of one man and critically injured another. A third man and one woman were less seriously injured.

In serious truck accidents like this one, survivors may be able to file civil personal injury lawsuits against others in the event that evidence indicates they acted in a negligent manner that caused or contributed to the truck accident. Surviving family members of slain victims may be able to file wrongful death actions in a similar fashion. While such lawsuits cannot make up for a person’s death, a successful result can provide for family members who may be suffering financial losses right along with their emotional grief.

Source: KansasCity.com, “Victim of Missouri diner crash always sat in the same booth,” Oct. 20, 2012