Rachel Trent posted on Facebook on Thursday, July 21 that her father lost his life to the game Pokemon Go when a 21-year-old who was playing this game drove down the wrong side of I-40 near downtown Knoxville. The accident occurred on Wednesday, July 20, and involved a collision with a semi-truck driven by 67-year-old Evington resident Carroll Trent.
According to the post, the wrong-way driver “drove down this wrong side of the interstate, colliding with my Dad’s semi and in turn caused his truck to explode, incinerating it to the ground!” The girl urged the players of the game to be responsible and not use a motor vehicle while playing. However, according to the Knoxville News Sentinel, police authorities are still investigating the factors in the accident and are not sure if Pokemon Go contributed to the accident. Although Knoxville Police Department spokesman Darrell DeBusk said alcohol or drugs appeared not to be a factor in the accident.
The attorneys at Pohl & Berk, LLP are saddened to hear of this accident. Our condolences are with the family of the victim as they mourn their loss.
Over 2,500 individuals lose their lives every month in traffic accidents in the United States. However, the widely covered accident involving the death of an occupant in an autopilot vehicle is the one that made the news. The accident, in which the car crashed into an 18-wheeler, spotlights concerns regarding the future of self-driving cars and auto insurance.
The Palo Alto automotive company Tesla Motors created a new autopilot feature that is touted as the next step towards collision avoidance. Unfortunately, this promise was absent when one such vehicle crashed into a tractor-trailer in Florida on May 7, 2016. This incident gave a glimpse into the uncertainty that surrounds the new self-driving technology introduced in approximately 70,000 Tesla automobiles. Such technology is also utilized by Google in 24 Lexus SUV’s and 34 other cars.
Attorneys at Pohl & Berk, LLP will hold other motorists or manufacturers responsible for your personal injury accident. Drivers must be accountable for the consequences of their negligent or reckless actions. Call our Nashville, Tennessee offices today at 615-277-2765 to learn more.
Two separate vehicular crashes along Interstate 75 North at Exit 11 in Ooltewah in Hamilton County near Chattanooga, Tennessee on Wednesday, June 29 resulted in critical injuries for the people involved in the first accident and a death for one of the people involved in the second accident. Sergeant Alan Bailey said the first accident involved multiple vehicles which resulted in one of the people involved incurring critical injuries. The second vehicular accident involved two tractor-trailers.
Eyewitness Tarnjit Malhans, who was driving his truck towards Canada when the two-truck collision happened, said one of the drivers of the truck tried to stop his vehicle but wasn’t able to, thus causing the crash.
The lawyers of Pohl & Berk, LLP extend their deepest condolences to the victims’ family and friends.
Charity Pennington, the passenger in the vehicle that Laurel, Tennessee resident Benjamin Brewer had been driving when he caused a nine-vehicle collision last year, filed a lawsuit against Brewer in Laurel Circuit Court on Friday, June 24.
Nine vehicles comprised the pileup on June 25, 2015 when Brewer’s semi-truck plowed through stalled traffic along Interstate 75’s Exit 11 in Ooltewah, outside Chattanooga.
Pennington also sued Lancer Insurance Co., which provided personal injury coverage for the vehicle, and Richmond, Virginia-based Atlantic Specialty Insurance Co., which according to the lawsuit, owes Pennington “for all medical expenses” and “for all injuries and damages she received in the automobile collision”.
The lawsuit also stated that not only did Pennington incur medical expenses for present debilitation, but that she would need long-term rehabilitation in the coming years for her serious injuries.
Brewer was indicted by a Hamilton County jury for the nine-vehicle collision and was placed on Tennessee’s Most Wanted List after he proved elusive to the authorities. Brewer and Pennington were arrested by Tennessee officials in a parking lot at a Fayette County mall in August 2015. Pennington was also taken into custody after police found $3,097 in cash with her.
If you are faced with an injury or illness or have suffered from harm as a result of a personal injury accident in the state of Tennessee that happened due to the negligent actions of other people and you are afraid of the repercussions of this event in your life, do not fret. Our personal injury lawyers at Pohl & Berk, LLP will do our best to ensure that you are given justice. Call our offices today at 615-277-2765.
