A large Peterbilt truck pulled out in front of a minivan yesterday on US 50 in Johnson County Missouri, causing a serious collision.  Cynthia Keehler and her 9 year-old son Jonathan Keehler were taken by LifeFlight Helicopter service to St. Lukes Hospital for treatment of their personal injuries.  The reporting officer at the scene indicates that the Peterbilt truck pulled directly into the path of Keehler's minivan, causing both vehicles to lose control.  The minivan sustained total damage of this truck crash.  A ticket was issued to Charley Vanlaere, the driver of the Peterbilt, for crude and inprudent operation of a vehicle. 

When a large truck pulls into the path of a smaller vehicle, it can be difficult for the vehicle (such as the minivan in this case) to safely swerve to avoid and imminent collision.  These trucks are so large and take up so much of the roadway, that avoiding a crash with one may only be avoided by running off the road.  Our Missouri injury lawyers see this same set of facts on a regular basis.  When large trucks fail to yield, the personal injuries sustained to occcupants of the smaller involved vehicles is often catastrophic.  One potential problem, at least when the truck is hauling a trailer (ie: tractor-trailer), there are no low sidebars on the trailer to keep a vehicle from actually going underneat the trailer.  Europe has safety regulations that require trailers to have side rails to keep this from happening.  The United States Department of Transportation has not yet decided to adopt such a safety regulation.

If you have been involved in a collision with a large truck or tractor-trailer and sustained personal injury, it is critical to obtain legal representation to properly protect your injury claim.  Many trucking companies employ "immediate response team" to react to crashes with company trucks.  Don't be the one without a similar team on YOUR side, contact St. Louis Truck Crash Lawyer Stephen Schultz for immediate assistance with your injury claim.