Truck Accident on Bay Bridge Could Result in Lawsuit
It's been a few weeks, but it's still easy to goggle at these images of what happened when an oil tanker loaded with 8,600 gallons of gasoline ran into a support pillar near the San Francisco Bay Bridge and caught fire. The heat from the fire literally melted the freeway. Fortunately, the accident took place very early in the morning and nobody was seriously hurt, though of course traffic was seriously disrupted. However, we can only imagine what could have happened if the truck accident had taken place just a few hours later, during morning rush hour.
News reports say the state of California is pushing very hard to get this bridge rebuilt for the thousands of commuters who use it each day. A rush job like that won’t be cheap. Depending on the results of the accident investigation, the liability for the repairs could fall on the driver, the trucking company that employed him, or both. News reports tell us that the driver, James Mosqueda, has a history of using drugs but had been clean for years before the accident and was not under the influence of anything at the time -- though he may have been driving too fast. However, the trucking company, Sabek Transportation Inc., has a more relevant history: it has failed six out of nine safety inspections of its trucks in the past year alone! The problems turned up by the inspections included bad tire tread and brake pads, both very common safety issues for large trucks. These issues may not have contributed to the accident, but could be damaging to the defense if the State decides to pursue a lawsuit against Mosqueda or Sabek. And it looks like that's a distinct possibility. Sabek may be liable for the hundreds of millions of dollars needed to repair the damage to the MacArthur Maze, state officials said Monday.
CalTrans Director Will Kempton said the agency will pursue damages if the CHP investigation determines that the driver or company were negligent in the crash.
CHP spokesman Officer Trent Cross said, "Ultimately someone is going to pay for this. Our investigation will tell you what happened, but we leave it to CalTrans and the lawyers to determine how any liability questions are settled." That's a big burden for a small company. Let's hope other trucking companies take it as evidence that safety matters -- financially as well as in terms of human lives.
