Two large commercial vehicles crashed into each other last week, killing one of the drivers. The accident happened south of San Antonio and involved a giant crane and a tractor trailer. As the Eagle Ford Shale boom continues to increase heavy trucking traffic, these kinds of catastrophic trucking accidents are an inevitable result.
Both of the vehicles involved in this Eagle Ford Shale truck accident met at a controlled intersection. One vehicle, the crane truck, was driving west through the intersection on FM 140. As the crane crossed the intersection, the semi-truck failed to brake for a stop sign. The truck drove through the intersection and smashed into the crane’s driver side door, apparently killing the crane driver on impact.
The wreck also sent the truck driver to a local hospital and flipped the semi-trailer across the road. Given the volume of Eagle Ford Shale-related traffic on both roads, the crash resulted in heavy congestion for several hours while authorities tried to remove both of the vehicles.
Authorities have not said what caused the truck driver to miss the stop sign. In many cases, trucking accidents like this result from exhausted drivers. Hours-of-service rules attempt to prevent driver fatigue-related wrecks but many truckers skirt those requirements in an attempt to make more efficient trips to earn more money. Trucking companies sometimes even encourage this. No matter how much money is at stake, driver safety should come before larger profit margins for trucking companies.
Source: KSAT, “Crane driver dies in accident with truck in Atascosa County,” Stephanie Serna, Oct. 3, 2012