An elderly Petaluma couple was killed last Friday when their BMW was hit by a semi-truck. The San Francisco Chronicle reports that the trucker who slammed into the couple head-on claims to have been choking on food at the time of the accident.
The crash happened on I-80 by Old Davis Road. The 45-year-old trucker said that he was eating while driving and become dizzy when he lost control of his vehicle.
The big-rig careened down the highway, hit a guardrail, and struck two cars before hitting the elderly couple head-on. The truck and the BMW flew onto the highway shoulder and burst into flames.
Authorities say that the 76-year-old BMW driver and his 74-year-old wife were killed instantly. The drivers of the two other cars suffered moderate injuries. The trucker said that he regained consciousness after his truck struck the guard rail. He jumped out the truck cab and suffered burn injuries.
California Highway Patrol officers did not arrest or cite the trucker. He and his company will like face personal injury and wrongful death lawsuits arising out of this truck accident.
Source: San Francisco Chronicle, “Choking-trucker crash: Petaluma couple IDd,” Will Kane, Mar. 29, 2013
