California Highway Patrol Determines Fault In Truck Collision

Was The FedEx Driver At Fault In This Collision?

Last year, on April 10, 2014, a severe truck collision took the lives of ten people. According to the California Highway Patrol (CHP), a FedEx truck, operated by 32 year-old Tim Evans, collided with a tour bus, operated by Silverado Stages Inc., near 5:40pm on the I-5 Freeway.

Reports state that the FedEx truck, while driving southbound on the freeway, drifted off across the grass median in a shallow angle and collide with a northbound Nissan and the Silverado Stages tour bus. According to the CHP, there was no evidence of attempts to turn the truck or use the breaks. The crash resulted in 10 deaths and 39 injuries, leaving a devastating impact on the families of the victims.

The families of the victims have since filed a negligence suit, naming the FedEx truck driver, Tim Evans, and Silverado Stages, Inc. as the defendants. Yet, at the time of the accident, the CHP officers were unable to tell who was responsible for the crash. Reports state that none of the drivers were impaired by drugs or alcohol, not were any of them distracted by cellphones. They were unable to tell whether Mr. Evans had fallen asleep at the wheel – once the truck trailed off course, there were no evasive maneuvers taken: no braking, no indication of steering in an attempt to avoid the crash.

After a yearlong investigation into the accident, however, CHP officers determined that the fault lay with Mr. Evans. According to the CHP, Mr. Evans made an unsafe turning movement while driving on the freeway, which was the cause of the truck traveling across the grass median and crashing into the victims.