On April 24, 2011, a tractor trailer changing lanes on I-285 west, near Martin Luther King Jr. Drive, struck a Nissan, sending it into a highway guard rail. After hitting the guardrail, the vehicle was then struck by the cab of another tractor-trailer. Newlywed Danielle Holly, 21, was killed at the scene. Her husband was transported to the trauma center at Grady Memorial Hospital.
One report stated that the first tractor trailer attempted to change lanes in front of the young couple, clipped the car, and sent it into the inner barrier wall. The car bounced back into the traffic lanes where it was struck by a semi which not carrying a load, resulting in what was described as a horrible rollover.
Initial media reports do not identify the trucking company involved.
The root cause of such tragic crashes often lies in mismanagement of safety issues by the trucking company. A poor safety culture flowing from corporate headquarters may lead to tragedy on the highway. In addition to the police investigation and statements of eyewitnesses, proper handling of civil cases arising from such tragedies includes examination of driver logs, operational records, and records of Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration regarding the company’s safety history.
Ken Shigley is a trial attorney in Atlanta, Georgia whose practices focuses on representation of plaintiffs in high end personal injury and wrongful death cases. He is listed among the “Legal Elite” (Georgia Trend Magazine), as a “Super Lawyer” (Atlanta Magazine), and in the Bar Register of Preeminent Lawyers (Martindale). A Certified Civil Trial Advocate of the National Board of Trial Advocacy, Mr. Shigley has extensive experience representing parties in trucking and bus accidents, products liability, catastrophic personal injury, wrongful death, brain injury, spinal cord injury and burn injury cases.