No one should have to bury their child and our hearts and prayers go out to the Zamora family and friends as they plan to bury Elena during this most precious season of family and togetherness.  Said to be “a leader”, “beautiful”, “smart”, by all her friends and teachers at Hume Fogg Magnet School, it’s obvious that, had Elena Zamora lived, she would have contributed so much to the world. Tragically, her life was ended in one terrible instance when she was run over by a tractor trailer while she attempted to cross the street in Nashville at Church and Rosa Parks (story continues)

The investigation is ongoing as to the cause of the crash and no charges have been brought against the driver as of yet.  The investigation so far has revealed some extremely concerning safety violations against the company who owns the truck, Service One Transport, Inc. (the trailer is registered to another company, CEVA Logistics). After checking with the FMCSLA (the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration), it has been shown that over 52.2% of comparable transporation companies have better safety records than Service One, with the company being involved in 5 crashes in the past 24 months (not including the one that claimed Elena Zamora’s life). Over 91.5% of comparable companies have better hours-of-service compliance and Service One has been cited multiple times for drivers driving longer than allowed by law (driver fatigue is one of the top 3 causes of tractor trailer accidents in country). The company has been cited multiple times over the past 2 years for their drivers driving in excess of 10 miles over the speedlimit and  70% of comparable transporation companies have better maintenance standard inspection results on their trucks. Reports specifically cite air brakes on Service One’s trucks as being inoperable and defective. (story continues)

 

I’ve been practicing injury law for over 20 years and have worked on dozens of large truck crashes that resulted in people being injured and even, as in this terrible case, killed. I am constantly amazed at what trucking companies and the 3rd party brokers who do their hiring in some instances will try to get away with.  Trucks are by far the largest and most dangerous vehicles on our roads and these companies cannot be allowed to continue to put profits ahead of our, and our childrens’, safety.