Law enforcement authorities reported that a pickup truck allegedly caused a major accident that resulted in the death of a 27-year-old woman and injured several firefighters on the Ohio Turnpike on Nov. 5. According to police, the Canfield Fire Department was responding to an earlier accident and traffic was stopped. The 27-year-old woman was stopped behind the fire truck in her Nissan SUV.

A 2012 Dodge Ram driven by an Indiana man then reportedly rear-ended the woman with such force that her car slammed into the fire truck. The woman’s vehicle burst into flames, and the fire truck careened into an Ohio Turnpike truck, injuring the Turnpike’s 52-year-old driver. Additionally, the pickup truck had been hauling a trailer, which overturned in the wreck, striking two other passenger vehicles in the process. One of those drivers was also injured.

In addition to the killed woman, the injured Turnpike truck driver and the injured passenger car driver, several firefighters were also injured in the multi-vehicle collision. Two injured victims were flown for medical treatment while others were transported via ambulances to the hospital. Police indicated they may file criminal charges against the pickup truck’s driver for his role in the accident.

When a person is killed in a car accident as a result of the negligent actions of another driver, his or her family may be able to recover damages through filing a wrongful death civil lawsuit against the negligent driver. Families are often left with significant financial expenses and emotional losses as a result of such accidents. A wrongful death claim can help the families recover damages for things such as their medical expenses, funeral expenses, loss of companionship, pain and suffering damages, grief counseling, lost current and future income, lost inheritance rights and other assorted damages.

Source: WKBN, “Ohio Turnpike reopens after fatal crash”, November 05, 2014