Carolina Personal Injury News

Hazardous Material Truck Driver Cited After Spill On Salem Highway

Posted on Mar 31, 2010

One of the many reasons that Carolina truck accidents can be more dangerous than other kinds of vehicle accidents is that big rigs often carry loads of hazardous, flammable, or explosive materials. A truck accident involving hazardous materials can result in serious injuries for all those involved and can even affect those living in nearby neighborhoods. For example, a hazardous material truck crash could result in respiratory injuries, burns, chemical burns, and exposure to toxins.

On Tuesday, March 9, just such a hazardous material tanker truck accident occurred. According to the North Carolina Highway Patrol, 57-year-old truck driver Morris Glozie was driving on highway NC 150 and turning right onto a service road when his big rig wheels went into a ditch and overturned his tractor-trailer. The truck accident spilled a large amount of hazardous materials onto the road and surrounding area – including a potentially flammable material called toluene.

The North Carolina hazardous material truck accident led to a citation for unsafe movement for the Mooresville truck driver. In addition, a number of homes and businesses in the area had to be evacuated while crews cleaned up the 8,000 gallons of spilled liquids. Highway NC 150 was also shut down for most of the day while the clean-up took place.

Truckers carrying hazardous materials are heavily regulated by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. However, this does not fully prevent all hazardous truck accidents from taking place.

About the Editors: Shapiro, Lewis & Appleton is a law firm whose attorneys focus on injury law and have experience handling truck accident cases. Check out our truck accident case results and download our free consumer guide on what to do if you get into a wreck with a commercial truck. We serve every area of North Carolina, including the Outer Banks, Nags Head and the western mountains, as well as all the cities and counties in between. In South Carolina, we cover the state from Myrtle Beach and Charleston to Orangeburg, Columbia, Florence, Rock Hill, Darlington, Aiken, Anderson, Greenville and Spartanburg.

Rick Shapiro and James Lewis have been listed among the Best Lawyers in America since 2010 and have been listed in the National Million Dollar Advocates Forum since 2009. The firm has been recognized as one of the Best Injury Law Firms in North Carolina for personal injury plaintiffs since 2010 by U.S. News & World Report. Additionally, and our firm has the highest rating of AV from national lawyer ranking organization Martindale-Hubbell. That means we have a reputation for demonstrating preeminent legal skill.

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