New York – The driver of a van was injured in a rear-end accident just as he was getting onto the George Washington Bridge (GWB). The crash victim was driving a work vehicle and was on his way into New York City when a tractor-trailer truck hit him from behind. Investigators were called to the scene to determine if the truck was speeding or driving dangerously at the time of the collision. Reports show that the truck and van had just exited the toll barrier and this may have contributed to the accident. Motor vehicle accident specialists say that sometimes a rear-end crash can actually be due to the driver negligence of the vehicle in front. This is often the case when a car or smaller vehicle tries to cut in front of a slower moving truck or other vehicle. Legal experts explain that both drivers have responsibility to drive with due regard for others on the road. This means that the truck driver would have the responsibility to maintain control of his vehicle in order to avoid hitting the car in front of him. However, the van would also have the responsibility to not cut off another vehicle or swerve dangerously.

This motor vehicle accident on the GWB brings up recent accusations against the governor of New Jersey’s office, which reportedly closed several lanes of the bridge. Those bridge lane closures have been implicated in the delayed emergency response of ambulances and paramedics to several car accidents and an elderly woman that was unconscious. The 91-year-old woman died later in the hospital according to officials. Further investigations into the effects of the closed lanes and subsequent gridlocked traffic are ongoing. Although no proof has yet to be presented, accusations continue to be heard regarding the governor himself ordering the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey to close the roads onto the bridge. This has left the public wondering if the governor’s office and the Port Authority are legally and morally responsible for the delayed ambulance responses and their consequences. Still others have expressed concern that other life and death delays, such as organ transplant deliveries, could have occurred due to the closing of lanes and subsequent traffic. Find out more about these delays here.

Photo by Cumulus Clouds (Own work) [GFDL, CC-BY-SA-3.0 or CC-BY-SA-2.5-2.0-1.0], via Wikimedia Commons