An Orlando trucker, who was at the wheel of an 18-wheeler that rear-ended a school bus in a fatal accident in Florida last September, was arrested last week. Reinaldo Gonzalez has been charged with vehicular homicide for the accident that killed a 13-year-old school girl.
Last year on September 23rd, a North Marion Middle School bus from Marion County was stopped on U.S. 301 to drop some children off. Gonzalez's 18-wheeler rear-ended the bus, dragging it 200 feet before both vehicles burst into flames. 21 students were trapped inside the bus; all made it out of the engulfed bus safely except for Francis Schee. She was sitting at the back of the bus and was killed instantly.
Gonzalez, who was on his way from Jacksonville to Groveland, later admitted to investigators that he was on his cell phone just before the accident. However, he failed to specify when he hung up the phone or if he hung it up at all. Investigators believe he may have been on the phone at the time of the accident. In addition, he had been traveling for many hours just before the crash.
Either Gonzalez was tailgating, which is why he failed to stop in time to avoid the accident, or he was distracted by his cell phone and was not able to respond in time to avoid a crash. In either case, he was driving recklessly and indulging in foolish driving behavior that increased his risk of an accident. Truck accident lawyers frequently see the devastating consequences of such behavior.
Truck Accident Safety
18-wheeler drivers must keep sufficient distance between their truck and the truck in front of them. An 18-wheeler takes a much longer time to come to a complete stop than an ordinary passenger vehicle. If Gonzalez was using a cell phone at the time of the crash, he was exposing himself and others to serious risk. The danger posed by an 18-wheeler driver who uses his cell phone behind the wheel was the force behind Heathers Law, a bill that will ban cell phone use by motorists in Florida. It is named for Heather Hurd who was killed in a truck accident in which the driver was text messaging rather than focusing on the road. Currently, Florida has no law banning any kind of cell phone use.
If you have been injured in a truck accident or a loved one has been killed, experienced truck accident attorneys can help you recover physically, mentally, and financially. Contact a truck accident lawyer at Arnold & Itkin LLP for a free evaluation of your case.
Source: http://feeds.lexblog.com/~r/AITruckAccidentLawyerBlog/~3/V9LkpQaELA8/
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