Missouri Accident Lawyer Blog

Enoc Castanon, 5, was killed and several other children were injured Monday afternoon when the car they were riding in was struck by a tractor trailer on Missouri 96 near Carthage, according to the Missouri Highway Patrol.

The investigating officer said the crash occurred when a 1996 Pontiac, driven by Silvia Castanon, 37, slowed to make a left turn onto Route BB. The tractor-trailer, driven by Betty Ray, 59, was attempting to pass the Pontiac and struck it on the side.

Other passengers in the Pontiac suffering minor injuries were identified as Adelfi Castanon, 3; Edwin Vasquez, 12; Keila Vasquez, 7; Leslie Vasquez, 9; and Samuel Vasquez, 13. Silvia Castanon suffered moderate injuries. All injuries were treated at McCune Brooks Hospital in Carthage, according to the patrol report.

Enoc Castanon was not wearing a seat belt.

Since there was a fatality, Missouri Highway Patrol will perform an accident reconstruction to determine the specifics of the crash.

Truck accidents are often caused by drivers not following Federal trucking regulations. These regulations are designed to keep truck operators and other motorists safe. One of these regulations, Part 395, is the Hours of Service guideline. It limits when truck drivers can operate their rigs, based upon on-duty driving time, on-duty not driving and off duty time. Drivers routinely cheat this limitation by classifying time as off duty when they are really on duty, not driving. This cheating is caused by highly competitive trucking companies putting high pressure on their drivers to get loads to the destination quickly. Dedicated truck accident lawyers know the industry and know how to discover regulation violations. Regulation violations routinely are fertile grounds for the imposition of punitive damages against a truck company.

Drivers are responsible for keeping records of their driving hours, though trucking companies are only legally responsible for these documents for a short period of time. A Missouri personal injury attorney needs to be consulted as soon as possible to ensure evidence is not lost.

It is not yet known if any regulations were broken in the Carthage crash. If the driver is found to be negligent, a personal injury lawsuit could follow. At that time, discovery of pertinent documents will shed light on whether there were violations committed by this driver.

The Bradley Law Firm has recovered millions of dollars in trucking accidents for numerous clients over the last thirty years. Feel free to contact us with any questions related to your personal injury case. Consultations are always free.