MOUNT VERNON, TX (01/01/2016) — Marcia Robin Hameroff died on Friday morning after the semi-trailer she was riding in unexpectedly crashed and caught fire.
According to the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS), Marcia Robin Hameroff and Brian Lee Johnson were killed following an 18-wheeler accident that occurred along Interstate 30 near Mount Vernon, Texas.
The DPS reported that shortly after 8:00 a.m., Brian Johnson was driving a semi-trailer westbound on I-30 when he veered off the road, struck a guard rail, and slid on a concrete barricade before coming to rest on the center grass median.
After the initial collision, the 18-wheeler became engulfed in flames.
Johnson and Marcia Hameroff, a passenger in the 18-wheeler, both lost their lives in the wreckage.
Police are currently investigating the cause of this fatal wreck.
Commentary
While we do not know the exact cause of this accident, we do know that the trucking industry frequently places tight deadlines upon their drivers in order to make sure deliveries arrive on schedule. Unfortunately, this often means that drivers are pushed beyond their limit, putting them at an increased risk of having an accident.
Even though there are federal laws protecting these drivers by limiting the number of hours they’re allowed to drive within a set amount of time, trucking companies often pressure drivers to violate these rules in order to save the company time and money. This pressure can cause drivers to go long periods of time without sleep, leading to fatigue or sleep deprivation. Although sleepy drivers are dangerous in any vehicle, the danger is increased when said vehicle weighs 80,000 lbs.
