Truck Driver Killed in Fatal Blowout Accident
An Orange County truck driver lost his life when a tire on his Mack truck blew out causing him to lose control of the vehicle. The accident occurred on the I-84. The Mack truck, which was a brand new 2020 model, was driven by 72-year-old David Harp. Harp was the only person killed in the crash. No one else was injured. The blowout caused the truck to exit the roadway on the right shoulder. The truck blew through the grassy area and struck several trees on its way into the wooded area. Harp was pronounced dead at the scene. Police are still looking for information concerning the crash.
2020 Trucks and Tires
Tires on a Mack truck need to be changed once every three years. Since this is a 2020 Mack truck, none of the vehicle’s tires would have worn out by the time the accident occurred. We can thus safely say that it is highly unlikely that the trucking company is at fault for this accident. The truck would have likely been purchased and still had the original tires.
By process of elimination, we can safely assume that neither the Mack truck driver or his trucking company was responsible for the crash. We can also eliminate any service shop that placed the tires on the truck or retread the tires for the truck since the driver would not have worn out the truck’s original tires.
This leaves us with only two possibilities. Either the tire manufacturer is responsible for the crash or there was some road debris that caused the tire to blowout, leading to the crash. The tires themselves will provide all of the information we need to determine if it was road debris or a manufacturing defect that resulted in the tire failure.
Road Debris Versus Manufacturing Defect
You don’t need an electron microscope to figure out whether or not road debris or a manufacturing defect result in the tire failure. If the family of David Harp elects to file a lawsuit against the tire company, the tire company will likely raise the defense that it could have been road debris that caused the accident. They don’t need evidence of road debris to make this defense. In fact, they will raise this defense in the absence of any evidence at all.
However, road debris tends to leave puncture marks. In cases where a pothole causes a tire blowout, there is generally some other issue there that contributed. In this case, that issue is almost certainly a defectively manufactured tire.
The process of fastening rubber treads to a steel belt is complex. The adhesion necessary must be able to withstand hours on the road. Heat and motion can cause tread separation if the adhesion fails. This is the tire company’s fault. The tire company warranties their tires for a certain amount of treading. Once that treading wears out, the responsibility shifts to the driver to fix. Beforehand, however, it is almost certainly the result of a manufacturing defect.
Talk to a Florida Defective Tire Attorney
If you believe a defective tire caused your accident, call the Coral Gables tire defect attorneys at Halpern, Santos & Pinkert today to learn more about our services.
Resource:
patch.com/new-york/midhudsonvalley/1-killed-when-mack-truck-blows-out-tire-goes-i-84
https://www.tiredefectattorney.com/suv-tire-blowout-causes-death-serious-injuries/
