State Police have recently reported the arrest of a truck driver who has been charged with multiple drunk driving charges after a traffic accident Monday night, according to Wgem.com. A Chicago truck accident attorney at our law firm learned that the driver of Roodhouse, Illinois was driving west on I-72 in Pike County just before 11pm when he drove his semi-trailer into a wooded area off of the road. After authorities arrived at the scene, the driver was taken to a nearby hospital, only having suffered minor injuries.
When later questioned regarding the accident, the driver stated he fell asleep behind the wheel. He was arrested for DUI, illegal transportation of an alcoholic beverage, improper lane usage, driving while fatigued, operation of a commercial motor vehicle while under the influence, and unlawful possession of alcohol in a commercial motor vehicle.
From the perspective of our lawyers, accidents involving semi trucks, trailer trucks, or other large commercial vehicles can result in personal injury and life altering consequences for not only the drivers of these trucks, but potentially other motorists and pedestrians on the roadway. Though the accident described above was fortunately a single-vehicle accident, it could have easily been prevented. There were clearly two primary factors at play that caused the truck driver to drive off of the road: driving while fatigued and driving under the influence.