Posted on 08/11/2015 1:44:02 PM PDT by BBell
A man crushed and dragged on his motorcycle by an 18-wheeler in Slidell has survived. The incident, captured in a terrifying video, leads "one to believe that miracles really do exist," the Slidell Police Department declared.
The crash occurred last Friday (Aug. 7) around 7 p.m. At the intersection of Gause Boulevard West and Carnation Street a motorcyclist had come to a stop and was surveying traffic, video provided by the Police Department shows.
As he is there idling on his bike, an 18-wheeler makes a right turn and plows right into him. The 2005 Freightliner careens down Carnation Street, pushing the crumpled rider and bike, and then veers to its right into a wet ditch.
Police acknowledged they feared the worst when they arrived at the scene. The rider, a 50-year-old Slidell man who police did not identify, was on the side of the road near a downed power line and the ditched truck with the wrecked motorcycle pinned beneath it.
But the rider was alive. In critical condition, he was taken to University Hospital in New Orleans, police said.
The truck driver, Timothy Duimstra, 56, of Michigan, was also in poor shape, police said. But his condition wasn't the result of the accident but the cause, according to police. Duimstra's speech was slurred and he could not keep his balance, police said.
(Excerpt) Read more at nola.com ...
Yes, automatic license suspension when charged. Minimum 1 year suspension on conviction. He will also be looking for a new career. His info will go into the national drivers data base that all companies report to and show a dui in a commercial vehicle. He will never drive another truck for anyone. He is now a permanently unemployed truck driver....red
I’m amazed he made the turn so sharply.
Yup.
Nobody could him if they wanted to. Insurance would never touch him. CDLs are serious business. You can’t screw around.
There are more and more accidents where people are claiming sneezing spells, and surprised by another vehicle. I am surprised prosecutors in vehicular deaths are not getting the driver’s social media hours of communications. I am suspecting there are a lot of tired people out there who are on the social media quite late and then falling asleep the next day. Just my thoughts here.
Note, too, that ‘drunk’ with a CDL is often a much lower standard than fro the average car driver. IIRC, a BAC of 0.04 is the threshold for CDL drivers, where for car drivers it is 0.08 and up until a couple of years ago was 0.10%
Bump for reference.
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Idiot².
I consider myself a fairly paranoid rider. I am constantly in threat assessment mode when I ride.
I can’t say I would have been able to get out of THAT situation myself, presented in an instant as it was. That one would have got me.
Yet another scenario to have to seriously consider at all times . . .
Im amazed he made the turn so sharply.
...
According to the article, the police think he passed out and the truck veered off the road sharply.
I’m having trouble seeing how that could happen. The steering wheel must have spun (or been spun) rapidly to lock to the right. Max right.
If the driver didn’t do it, and I’m thinking he could not have turned it so quickly, then could something in/near the road have grabbed the wheel and cranked the steering to max right? A curb or ditch, for example.
I was surprised that the truck didn’t roll over!
And finally, do I have to READ the article?? I HATE that!
LOL
If the driver didnt do it, and Im thinking he could not have turned it so quickly, then could something in/near the road have grabbed the wheel and cranked the steering to max right? A curb or ditch, for example.
...
That’s what I thought. Perhaps the wheels caught the ditch he ultimately ended up in.
drunk
or having a stroke.
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