Fatal Wheelchair Accident in West Virginia
Posted on November 4, 2009
Filed Under IN THE NEWS
Here is a strange little story involving a tractor-trailer fatality in Kenova, West Virginia. On Monday October 26, 2009, a tractor trailer, driven by Michael Joyce, hit Deris Scott at an intersection, who was in a motorized wheelchair. This is the original article. Here is the followup article. The articles have very little details. Joyce hit Scott with his rear wheels, who was trying to cross the street. Joyce apparently did not know he hit Scott, and he did not stop, until the interstate when he was flagged down by other motorists. Joyce has been charged with leaving the scene of an accident, and negligent homicide.
Since there are no details, I’m going to guess here. The wheelchair was hit by the rear wheels, so I’m guessing the truck was making a turn, and the wheels ran over the curb. Either the driver didn’t see the wheelchair sitting there, or the man in the wheelchair did not anticipate the truck turning wide, and the wheels coming up over the curb. Is this what happened? I don’t know, but it might be. I will watch for more details.
I can see both sides of this. You can’t blame the driver for leaving the accident scene, if he didn’t know any happened. I guess the authorities think he should have seen the wheelchair, since they charged him with negligent homicide. If you’re a driver, you must know where your trailer wheels are tracking. I’ll see if I there is any followup to this story.
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