When Massachusetts residents hear about a truck accident, they usually wonder if anyone was hurt and how serious were the injuries. Damage to the cargo carried by a truck is often overlooked. Two recent truck accidents involving vehicles carrying packages appear not to have caused any serious physical injuries, but somewhere between 400 and 1,000 packages were scattered across different parts of I-495. Many of the packages appear to have been damaged by the collisions.
The first of the two collisions was reported at about 10:30 p.m. in Chelmsford. According to Massachusetts State Police, a UPS truck carrying packages collided with a semi tractor-trailer. One side of the UPS truck was pried open like a can, and the truck’s contents was spilled across the freeway. The two truck drivers and the driver of a passenger vehicle were taken to Lowell General Hospital for evaluation and treatment of non-life-threatening injuries. State police estimated that about 1,000 packages were spilled from one of the vehicles, a UPS truck. UPS sent another vehicle to aid in clearing the packages from the highway. The accident closed two lanes of the Interstate while the spilled cargo was collected.
A second collision involving a semi trailer truck and passenger vehicle was reported at about the same time. Very few details are available about this accident. The two drivers were taken to a hospital with what appeared to be non-life-threatening injuries, but no other information was made available. The causes of both crashes are being investigated by the Massachusetts State Highway Patrol.
As a common carrier, UPS has a duty to ensure that its cargo is delivered to customers intact. Early reports of the accident indicated that many of the packages that spilled from the trailer were severely damaged. Sorting out the damage to the UPS cargo may take longer than evaluating the injuries suffered by the drivers involved in the accidents.
