Timothy Paul McKelvey, a Va. Beach truck driver, caused a serious accident when he fell asleep at the wheel of his 18-wheeler. McKelvey was transporting blood plasma when he fell asleep, drifted onto the side of the road and overturned on I-64 near Portsmouth, Va.
According to Virginia State Police the large truck caught fire after it overturned, spilling fuel, stopping traffic and wrecking the truck. Due to the possibility of spilt fuel and the type of load being carried, the hazmat team was called to the scene of the accident to handle cleanup.
The fire was put out and a crane was used to right the truck. Interstate 64, which had been closed since roughly 2 a.m., was reopened shortly before 11:00 a.m. The driver was wearing his seat belt and was fortunate to receive only minor injuries. He has been charged with reckless driving.
Drowsy driving is dangerous for both everyday commuters and commercial drivers. Though this accident involved only the driver of the truck, too many times drowsy and inattentive drivers cause serious accidents, even those involving loss of life. As personal injury attorneys we urge you to never drive when overly tired and if you are on the road and find yourself falling asleep please pull over and rest. Doing so may just save a life.