Chesapeake Bay Bridge Accident Lawsuit Filed by Family of Trucker Killed in Fatal Crash Last Summer

A Maryland wrongful death lawsuit has been filed by the family of John R. Short, Sr., a truck driver who was killed in an accident that occurred when an on-coming vehicle entered his lane on the Bay Bridge last August, causing his truck to plummet into the Chesapeake Bay.

The complaint was filed against Candy Lynn Baldwin, the 19-year old woman who was driving the 1997 Chevrolet Camaro that caused the accident. However, the Baltimore Sun also reports that the family has placed the Maryland Transportation Authority on notice of their intention to file a claim under the Maryland Tort Claims Act for the failure of the bridge to prevent the truck from falling off of the bridge, as an investigation found that the metal bars holding the concrete barriers had eroded prior to the crash.

The Maryland truck accident lawsuit was filed in Queen Anne’s County Circuit Court. According to the Sun:

The suit states that Short swerved to avoid a head-on collision but was sideswiped by the Camaro and slid across the bridge and through the concrete barrier. The tractor trailer fell about 30 feet into the Chesapeake Bay, and Short drowned in the cab of his vehicle.

Short’s truck was the first vehicle to crash through one of the safety barriers in the 56-year history of the bridge.

New Laws May Help Reduce Maryland Teen Driver Accidents

An article in today’s Washington Post outlines several steps being taking by the legislatures in Maryland and Virginia to put limitations on teen drivers, which proponents claim will increase safety on the roads and decrease the risk of teen accidents. Read more

Dangers of Text Messaging While Driving

Several news reports have suggested that last weeks Los Angeles train accident could have been caused by an engineer who missed a stop signal because he was distracted by text messaging moments before the crash. At least 25 people were killed and 130 people injured in LA train wreck between a Metro Link commuter train and a Union Pacific freight train.

Investigators are looking into a report that a cell phone text message was sent by the commuter train engineer minutes before the accident. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is examining the cell phone records of the engineer and of a teenager who claims to have received the message. The engineer was killed in the accident and his phone was destroyed.

Earlier this year, the Maryland legislator rejected a bill that would have banned text messaging while driving in Maryland. The law was designed to reduce the risk of Maryland auto accidents caused by distracted drivers. Similar bans are in place in Washington State, New Jersey and Phoenix.

The Maryland legislation did not pass, as law makers indicated that text messaging does not involve a distraction of a unique nature and therefore does not necessitate a ban. In their opinion, the distractions caused by text messaging is similar to that caused while talking to people in the care, speaking on a cell phone or changing the radio.

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