Cherry Hill, New Jersey Truck Driver Arraigned For Role in Accident
A truck driver who was reportedly high on marijuana during a truck accident when he drove his truck into incoming traffic in Cherry Hill, New Jersey and caused a series of accidents that killed three people, has been arraigned.
Sheraz Khan is accused of being under the influence of drugs on September 11, 2008 when he allowed his 18-wheeler to get out of control and veer across several lanes of traffic and into the outbound lanes of Interstate 295 in Cherry Hill. The tractor trailer struck a Volkswagen driven by Texas resident Lawrence M. Wright, and a refrigerator box truck driven by Philadelphia resident Juma Rajab. Both were killed in the crash. Also killed was Renee Lesenko who was a passenger in the box truck. The tractor trailer was hauling heavy machinery at the time of the accident. Khan did not suffer any injuries in the crash. Camden County prosecutors claim that Khan was speeding at the time of the accident, as reported by witnesses. He also didn't seem to have made any effort to slam the brakes just before he struck the first car. Khan was arrested in January of this year.
Collisions with tractor trailers can have serious consequences for smaller cars. These are massive vehicles that can weigh up to 80,000 pounds, and the force of impact can be sufficient to cause severe injuries or even death. Drivers of tractor trailers have lower speed limits than other vehicles because they are harder to maneuver in the case of an emergency. Besides keeping within their speed limits, drivers must also avoid driving under intoxication or while fatigued, because of the risk this poses to motorists around the truck.
Monmouth County Truck Accident Attorneys
Victims of a tractor trailer or other large truck accident can file a claim for damages against the trucking company that employed the driver of the truck. A Monmouth county truck accident lawyer will determine a claim amount based on the severity of the injuries, as well as the kind of and number of factors that were possible for the crash. For instance, the driver's log records will have to be inspected to rule out the role of driver fatigue, and fleet maintenance records will have to be probed to see if there was a truck malfunction at the time of the accident.
