MOTOR VEHICLE
Overturned truck in middle of road not to blame for crash
On June 30, a jury declined to award a passenger in a tractor-trailer who was thrown from the sleeping compartment in a collision with an overturned truck. Vicki Smith was thrown about six feet from the sleeping compartment to the “doghouse” area of the cab when her truck struck another truck. She blamed Rau Estrada Jr., who overturned his truck on the icy road in front of her. Smith claimed Estrada was going too fast for the weather conditions, which caused his crash. The defense blamed Smith’s driver, arguing that he should have seen Estrada’s overturned truck and there was plenty of room to avoid it.
