April 21st, 2010 | 
Author: LEWISVILLE, TX – A fiery truck accident north of the Dallas-Fort Worth metro region shut down a section of Texas State Highway 121 on Thursday afternoon, April 8, 2010. The collision which involved a semi trailer, a state dump truck, and a passenger pickup truck, occurred in Denton County near Lewisville, TX, where Highway 121 meets Interstate 35. The accident area is in the north east section of the state, 183 miles east of Abilene, TX and 182 miles south of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.
At about 1:30 p.m. Thursday afternoon, 59 year old Randy Pierce of Cedar Hill, TX was driving his 18 wheeler truck north on Interstate 35. Mr. Pierce was hauling about 40,000 pounds of frozen chicken for Leap of Faith Transportation, based in Forth Worth, Texas.
When Mr. Pierce reached the juncture of State Highway 121 he proceeded down the entrance ramp to the northbound lanes. As Mr. Pierce was merging his semi trailer truck onto the highway a North Texas Tollway Authority truck, driven by 52 year Abebe Sbhat, suddenly pulled in front of the 18 wheeler and clipped the front section of the larger vehicle. The trailer truck’s fuel tank was punctured as the two trucks collided, and a huge fire ball erupted.
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The semi trailer truck then shot across several lanes of traffic, hit a pickup truck, and slammed into the bridge wall on the side of the highway. The cab of the semi went over the edge and dangled precariously off the bridge, just east of the I-35 and SH 121 intersection.
The driver of the semi trailer truck had jumped out of the passenger door of the cab just before the 18 wheeler tipped over the edge of the bridge. He suffered only minor injures in the truck accident.
The truck accident fire also engulfed the state dump truck and the pickup. Both drivers were able to escape their vehicles and walked away without injuries.
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Lewisville Firefighters rushed to the scene and worked to extinguish the burning wreckage of the multi vehicle truck accident.
Authorities shut down the section of the highway around the site of the truck accident while emergency crews worked. The northbound lanes of SH 121 were backed up for miles as police routed traffic off the highway. The southbound lanes also came to a crawl as vehicles passing the truck accident scene slowed to watch the unfolding action.
As the evening rush hour commute started, highway crews and the Lewisville police and firefighters were still working at the truck accident site. Highway 121 would remain closed for almost twelve hours.
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The North Texas Tollway Authority released video of the truck accident showing that their driver was to blame for the collision. The tollway dump truck had been following a street sweeper on SH 121 for protection. When they reached the ramp, the dump truck moved to its right, hitting the merging semi tractor trailer and setting off the fiery truck accident.
The NTTA stated they will take no disciplinary action against the driver until the truck accident investigation is completed.
Since trucking laws are governed by hundreds of regulations, litigation can be very complex. Hiring a truck accident attorney who specializes in the numerous trucking laws throughout the United States is essential for a successful verdict outcome. For more information about Texas trucking laws, talk to an expert Texas truck accident lawyer at 800.773.6770.
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