While federal trucking regulations are in place to weed out inattentive or unqualified truck drivers, these situations can still occur, and a trucking accident can cause serious injuries for all involved.

A five-car accident involving a tractor-trailer occurred on Interstate 495 southbound in Andover at approximately 6 a.m. on Oct. 22 near the Interstate 93 interchange. The trucking accident resulted when a tractor-trailer reportedly rear-ended a van, causing a domino effect by crashing into three other cars that were ahead.

According to reports, the van’s passenger, a New Hampshire man in his mid-40s, was thrown from the vehicle and then became pinned under the approximately five-ton vehicle’s back wheels. He was taken to Lawrence General Hospital after crash responders used airbags to raise the truck and rescue him. Four other people involved in the crash were taken to local hospitals, but the driver of the tractor-trailer suffered no major injuries.

According to police, a small, two-vehicle accident preceded the tractor-trailer crash, but it’s believed the two incidents weren’t related. The GPS from the tractor-trailer was removed so authorities could investigate any contributing factors from the crash.

Any vehicle collision has the capability to cause serious injuries, but the massive size of tractor-trailers makes accidents involving them all the more dangerous. Victims of a truck accident caused by defective auto parts, speeding, or negligence on the part of the driver, should fully understand their rights under the law when it comes to possible compensation for medical and other costs.

Police also took the truck’s GPS monitoring device, presumably to track the truck’s movement. It appears that an investigation has a long way to go.

Source: WHDH, “Multi-vehicle crash snarls morning commute,” Oct. 22, 2012