Imagine getting out of your car at a gas station and just narrowly missing getting hit by a tractor trailer rig, which then crashes into the building. One driver in Tennessee didn’t have to imagine it; he saw it with his own eyes.
The truck accident happened last week when the truck driver apparently exited the interstate and veered onto an uphill S-shaped ramp. For some reason, the tires left the pavement and the truck jumped a concrete island, crossed a road, drove over a grassy area and entered the store’s parking lot. That’s when the vehicle slammed into the gas station.
The 43-year-old driver was airlifted to Regional Medical Center in Memphis, while his 40-year-old passenger was taken to the hospital via ambulance. He was discharged, while the driver was listed in good condition following the accident. Two people inside the station were not hurt in the crash.
The man standing outside the Shell station apparently narrowly missed getting hit by the truck. According to Commercial Appeal, he was standing at the back of his vehicle when it was hit on the front left side.
The entire trailer ended up inside the gas station, while the cab went all the way out the back well and came to rest behind the building.
Investigators were trying to determine if there was a mechanical problem, or if the driver suffered a medical episode. There is no evidence that he applied the brakes all. It’s lucky no one was killed and more people were not hurt.
Source: Commercial Appeal, “Two injured as truck slams into gas station in Arlington,” Clay Bailey, Nov. 23, 2011