Truck Accident Lawyer News

SHREVEPORT, La – A woman was killed Monday morning, December 22, when she was hit by a semi tractor trailer on an interstate in Caddo Parish, Louisiana. The tractor trailer overturned after the deadly truck accident which occurred at Red River Bridge on Interstate 220 where the highway wraps around the northern edge of the city of Shreveport, LA. The accident area is in the northwest corner of the state, about 188 miles east of Dallas, Texas, and about 73 miles south of Texarkana, Arkansas.

Early Monday morning an unidentified truck driver was driving a semi trailer west on Interstate 220, moving through northwest Louisiana between Bossier City and Shreveport. The 18 wheeler was carrying a load of plywood at the time of the truck accident. The trucker’s employer and destination is not known.

It was shortly before 6:00 a.m. Monday and the tractor trailer was driving through Caddo Parish, on the I-220 as it loops around Shreveport. The driver was approaching the bridge on the interstate that crosses over the Red River when the truck accident occurred.

A short time earlier a woman had been in a single vehicle car accident on the interstate. According to police, 39 year old Clara Neal of Plain Dealing, LA was westbound on I-220 traveling in the inside lane of the interstate. She suddenly lost control of her car and crossed over the lanes, slamming into the side of the interstate bridge. The impact damaged her car and caused it to stall out, partially blocking one of the westbound lanes of the interstate.  A second car with some of Ms. Neal’s family members had arrived at the crash site to help her. The family members were on the side of the Red River Bridge and checking out Ms. Neal’s car when the truck accident happened.

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The woman reportedly stepped into the traffic lane and was trying to wave traffic around her family and the stalled car. The semi trailer came up on the bridge and apparently did not see the woman in the predawn darkness until the last moment. The tractor trailer hit the woman and then the rear tires of the semi slammed into the disabled car.  The force of the truck accident sent the semi trailer off balance and it flipped over on its side, dumping its load of plywood across I-220. The 18 wheeler landed across the westbound traffic lanes.

Caddo Parish Sheriff Officers and rescue personnel quickly responded to the two vehicle collision. Ms. Neal suffered serious and fatal injuries in the truck accident, and likely and died at the scene upon impact. The unidentified truck driver was not injured in the crash.

The westbound lanes of I-220 were shut down for hours, and officers rerouted traffic around the crash site. Highway crews were brought to the truck accident site and worked to clear the debris from the traffic lanes. The crews cleaned up the cargo of plywood off the interstate and it is believed it was reloaded on a second truck brought to the crash site. The disabled car was towed off the bridge, and a heavy duty truck got the tractor trailer back up on its wheels. Once the 18 wheeler was back upright it was hauled off the interstate. The westbound lanes were cleared and reopened for traffic shortly before 5:00 p.m. Monday evening.

The semi driver will likely not be charged in Monday’s fatal truck accident. The driver apparently did not see the woman in the roadway until the last moment and could not avoid hitting her on the interstate bridge.

The Caddo Sheriff’s Traffic Safety Unit is still investigating the truck accident.

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Gordon Elias & Seely, LLP recommend that if you know anyone who has been injured or killed as the result of a commercial truck accident involving a semi truck, 18 wheeler, big rig, tractor trailer or bus, tell them to immediately contact a qualified truck accident lawyer for advice. Gordon, Elias & Seely LLP are licensed in Arkansas, Texas, Louisiana and Washington, DC and have informal relationships with other truck accident lawyers. Visit our Shreveport truck accident lawyer page or call 800.773.6770.

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