SUV and Tractor-Trailer Collide in Orlando

By Orlando Personal Injury Attorney on December 16, 2017

A week ago on Monday morning, shortly before sunrise, officers with the Orlando Police Department responded to an emergency call directing them to Oak Ridge Road. The call indicated that a collision had taken place at a location along Oak Ridge Road somewhere between the points where this street intersects with John Young Parkway and Millenia Boulevard. When the police, fire rescue, and other emergency first responders arrived they found themselves dealing with two burning vehicles as well as one individual who was trapped and injured inside a badly mangled vehicle.

According to preliminary reports around the incident, a tractor-trailer had approached Oak Ridge Road before attempting to make a right turn onto the street. At the exact same time, an SUV was approaching the intersection. For reasons that are not clear, the driver of the SUV either did not see or had no time to avoid the tractor-trailer. The two vehicles collided with one another, with the SUV becoming wedged underneath the much larger truck.

The force of the collision as well as the subsequent damage that the crash inflicted upon the SUV resulted in a fire breaking out that began consuming both the trailer and the SUV. The report did not indicate if the fire was burning when the emergency response teams arrived, but by all accounts it was put out before completely devouring the two vehicles.

The driver of the SUV was the only person in the car at the time of the crash. Emergency teams worked together to remove the individual from the car before transporting them via ambulance to a nearby hospital. It is believed that they were admitted to the hospital as having injuries serious enough to be considered life-threatening. At the time of this writing, it is not known if the driver of the SUV was stabilized or if they still remain in critical condition. The driver of the tractor-trailer was not injured in the incident.

Collisions between cars and tractor-trailers are uniquely dangerous for just such reasons as this particular crash illustrates. Due to their diminutive size (when compared to the trucks), vehicles like SUVs, vans, and sedans easily lodge themselves underneath the trailers of semi-trucks. The resulting injuries to the drivers and passengers in the cars is often deadly.

No other information regarding this crash has been issued from the Orlando Police Department or the Florida Highway Patrol.

James O. Cunningham

Since 1977, personal injury lawyer James Cunningham has provided effective legal advocacy to people who are injured through the negligent actions of another person or entity throughout the Central Florida area. He fights to obtain recoveries for his clients’ physical and emotional pain and suffering and pursues his clients’ personal injury cases with a commitment to excellence and impeccable preparation.