New York – Last week’s police van crash killed one NYPD officer after it crashed on the Bruckner Expressway in the Bronx. The on-the-job accident left eight others with multiple injuries, including at least one victim with a head injury and shoulder injury. Investigators were looking into the possibility that the driver was speeding or even driving recklessly. According to reports, the van was coming around a sharp bend when it lost control and hit a road barrier, ejecting one victim. That victim was the one who died of his accident injuries shortly after the collision. The police vehicle was not on its way to an emergency call and so the lights and sirens were not being used at the time. Motor vehicle collision specialists say that a reckless driver can easily cause a wreck such as this one, especially when driving a larger and heavier vehicle like a van. In fact, this type of vehicle can easily roll over in an accident due to the higher center of gravity. These facts make it more dangerous to operate such a police vehicle and experts say that these drivers require extra training. Internal investigations will be needed to determine if the driver was properly trained and following all necessary safety precautions to prevent accidents or injury. A worker’s compensation lawyer notes that the injuries incurred in this work accident should be covered by the police department’s worker’s comp insurance. However, if proper safety precautions were not being employed at the time of the crash, an attorney may be advisable for the injured victims as well as the family of the man who was killed in the collision. See this article for more details about the police car accident.

Illustrative photo by Youngking11 (Own work) [CC-BY-SA-3.0], via Wikimedia Commons