Teen Driver Hit By Truck Driver in Missouri
Ryan Bradley | June 1, 2019 | Truck Accident
Katlin J. Elam, a 16 year old from Bucklin, Missouri, was injured in a Linn County Missouri semi-truck accident on December 29, 2011. After the Missouri side impact truck accident, the Bucklin teen was transported to Pershing Hospital by Linn County Ambulance.
Elam was attempting to turn onto Highway 5, 1 mile north of Marceline, from a private driveway when the Linn County Missouri truck accident occurred. A Freightliner driven by truck driver Gerald F. Spencer of Purdin, Missouri crashed into the driver’s side of Elam’s vehicle. Elam drove a 1997 Pontiac. The Pontiac was totaled in the accident, while the Freightliner sustained moderate damage. The truck driver did not sustain any reported injuries according to the Missouri State Highway Patrol.
In a Missouri side impact truck accident lawsuit, the court may have to determine whether any party in the accident violated Missouri’s right-of-way traffic regulations. When a truck slams into the side of another vehicle, a right-of-way violation may have occurred. For example, the truck may have failed to yield to another car, or sped up when a passenger car entered the roadway. Failing to yield or increasing speed while another vehicle enters the roadway both violate right-of-way rules and increase the likelihood of a Missouri side impact truck accident.
Accident victims should obtain the legal services of an experienced Missouri truck accident lawyer to protect themselves from the right-of-way arguments made by the defendant truck driver. Experienced plaintiff’s attorneys understand how to combat the types of accusations that defense attorneys and their clients levy against accident victims. When the truck driver crashes into a passenger vehicle that was exiting a driveway, the truck driver may argue that the passenger vehicle failed to yield properly to traffic in violation of Missouri’s right-of-way traffic regulation, Missouri statute §304.351.
Missouri statute §304.351 governs right-of-way rules for the state of Missouri. Section 5 of the statutes specifies the right-of-way rule when a motor vehicle enters a public roadway from a private driveway: “The driver of a vehicle about to enter or cross a highway from an alley, building or any private road or driveway shall yield the right-of-way to all vehicles approaching on the highway to be entered.” In other words, a driver entering the roadway from a private drive must yield to all traffic that is on the roadway.
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