Stories of truck accidents are fairly common in Louisana, and all too often they end tragically. Often, drivers in passenger vehicles are seriously injured by the exhausted or negligent drivers of the much heavier tractor-trailers. It's rare, then, to see an accident like the one that occurred earlier this month in Caddo Parish, in which the driver of a truck received injuries but the apparently at-fault driver of a passenger vehicle escaped without harm.

The crash occurred in the morning hours on US Highway 73. The driver of a dump truck was traveling northbound when a pickup truck pulled onto the roadway immediately in front of him. The dump truck driver struck the pickup truck, and then apparently lost control of his vehicle. He cut across the lanes of oncoming traffic, left the road and smashed into a group of trees. The driver was ejected from the vehicle in the collision; he sustained serious but not life-threatening injuries. The driver of the pickup truck was uninjured.

The Caddo sheriff's department is investigating the scene. According to news reports, the dump truck had the right-of-way when the pickup truck turned onto the highway, though the official investigation could turn up other factors that may have influenced this accident. In particular, deputies will be investigating why the driver of the pickup did not see the oncoming dump truck, and questioning whether the truck driver was speeding at the time of the incent.

If the police report confirms initial suspicions that suggest the pickup truck driver was at-fault in this incident, the driver of the dump truck may have legal options. In particular, he may file civil charges against the driver of the pickup truck to recover the cost of his medical bills and lost wages. Medical bills for serious car accidents can quickly pile up to astronomical sums; a personal injury suit may be the truck driver's best option to ease the financial burden of the incident.

Source: KSLA-TV, "CPSO investigating crash involving pickup and dump truck," Oct. 19, 2012