The Missouri Highway Patrol has confirmed the cause of the tractor-trailer crash in Herculaneum that killed two and seriously injured several others.  Authorities claim that 32 year-old truck driver Jay Valentine of Huntsville Texas took his eyes off the road long enough to miss traffic slowing down in front of his semi-truck.  When Valentine glanced back at the road it was too late, and a rear-end chain reaction crash that involved eight vehicles took place.  Names of the two killed in the crash have not yet been released, but police say they are a 52 year-old man and 28 year-old woman from Festus.  One person was pronounced dead at the scene, while the other was rush to a local hospital but unable to recover due to the catastrophic nature of the injuries. 

Cpl. Jeff Wilson obtained a statement from Valentine that he "looked over his to his right, and looked back, and traffic had slowed."  The tractor-trailer first struck a small Ford Focus, dragging it for over 100 yards.  The Focus was hard recognizable from the crash, and resulted in the death of the 52 year-old Festus man.  The man may not have survived, even if he was in a tank, given the rate of speed at impact.  The 28 year-old Festus woman who died at St. Louis University Hospital was driving a Pontiac Vibe, which is a smaller passenger vehicle, similar to the Focus.

The facts of this fatal Herculaneum truck crash are strikingly similar to the crash which occurred on Highway 64/40 near the Mason Road exit in 2008, which resulted in three fatalities.  Truck driver inattention is a serious safety concern, especially in urban areas where traffic congestion can occur at the blink of an eye.  It is unclear whether Valentine was using his cell phone at the time of this crash, but a Herculaneum truck crash attorney will certainly subpoena his mobile records to find out.  Use of a cell phone by truck drivers is currently the topic of a major debate amongst federal and state safety officials.