The eastbound lanes of Interstate 70 in Missouri had to be closed for several hours recently to allow cleanup operations after a multi-vehicle accident. Truck accidents are often deadly, and this wreck involved several tractor-trailers. In all, seven vehicles were reported to have been involved, and the weather may have played a part in the crash that claimed the lives of two people.

The Missouri State Highway Patrol reported that the crash happened in Callaway County on a recent Tuesday. It is suspected that it all started when a westbound pickup truck hydroplaned, causing a 46-year-old tractor-trailer driver to swerve to avoid colliding with it. However, the pickup truck struck the big rig and became partially wedged beneath the trailer. In swerving to avoid the crash, the tractor-trailer veered across into the eastbound lanes and smashed into a pickup truck and another big rig that was driven by another 46-year-old driver.

Another eastbound tractor-trailer then crashed into the wreck that was already in progress, and this was followed by two passenger vehicles also smashing into the big rigs. The 42-year-old driver of the pickup truck that seems to have started the chain reaction of crashes suffered only minor injuries, and she was released after treatment. The driver of one of the passenger cars suffered serious injuries, and three more people suffered moderate injuries.

Sadly, the two drivers of the first two tractor-trailers did not survive the multiple truck accidents that followed the suspected hydroplaning of the pickup truck. The surviving family members of the deceased drivers and the injured parties may have viable claims to the recovery of financial and other losses. However, determining who to hold responsible may be tricky in a case involving multiple vehicles. The services of experienced vehicle accident attorneys may be invaluable to the decedents’ loved ones and the injured victims who may want to pursue financial relief through personal injury and/or wrongful death litigation in a Missouri civil court.

Source: columbiamissourian.com, “UPDATE: Victims identified in seven-vehicle crash in Callaway County“, Oct. 28, 2015