The man killed after his Jeep Wrangler crashed into the rear of a tractor-trailer Friday morning on westbound Interstate 40, roughly 40 miles east of Barstow, has been identified as Daniel Ray Douthit of Laughlin, according to the San Bernardino County Sheriff-Coroner’s Department.

Douthit, 60, was in the number one lane near mile marker 38 when his Wrangler collided into the back of the second of two belly dump trailers being hauled by a semi, which had slowed to approximately five miles per hour, according to the coroner’s department.

The semi was part of a grinding and repaving project on the eastbound I-40 and approaching the construction zone from the opposite side, maneuvering over from the number two lane in an apparent effort to cross through a gap in the center divider, authorities said Friday.

As a result of the crash, the westbound number one lane had closed for several hours, approximately from 8:48 a.m. through 6 p.m., Barstow CHP Officer Don Spiker said Friday.

Douthit, originally believed to be in his mid-fifties, was killed on impact, according to Spiker.

Desert Ambulance and CHP responded to the scene.

Cause of the I-40 Crash

While this devastating San Bernardino County accident remains under investigation, the family members of the accident victim was  fatally injured would be well-advised to speak with an understanding and knowledgeable San Bernardino County personal injury lawyer. An attorney such as Gary A. Kessler who has successfully handled wrongful death accidents can advise the victim’s family of their legal rights to hold the driver accountable and best course of action should they wish to pursue a wrongful death claim.

Liability for  Serious Injuries in Car Accidents

Seeking immediate counsel from an experienced personal injury automobile accident attorney is well-advised following a car crash. In severe accidents such as this one the victims would benefit from speaking to an experienced personal injury lawyer regarding the protection of their legal rights and the compensation they are entitled to. And while it is uncertain who is liable for this incident, an attorney can also hire a highly skilled independent investigator to reconstruct the scene of the accident and determine who is responsible.

Attorney Gary A Kessler and the Law Offices of Gary A Kessler are compassionate and fully understand that you are attempting to cope with extreme serious injuries associated with a catastrophic injury.  The Law Offices of Gary A Kessler carefully selects its catastrophic injury cases so that we may give you (the client) the substantial personal attention neccessary to obtain a successful result for your catastrophic injury case.

The Law Offices of Gary A Kessler is prepared to front all costs required for a thorough investigation and top expert witnesses to prepare for trial of your case.  As in all catastrophic injury and serious personal injury cases, we advance all legal costs to prepare and present our client’s claim, and receive for our services only a percentage of what we recover for our attorney fees on their behalf.  Upon settlement our costs shall be reimbursed to us from the gross recovery.  If there is no recovery, no attorneys fees or costs are owed to our firm.  Contact the Law Offices of Gary A Kessler today so that we can preserve the evidence and demand compensation and accountability from the responsible parties who caused you or your family member catastrophic injuries!

If you or a family member sustained catastrophic injuries you need to contact the Law Offices of Gary A Kessler, an experienced law firm, immediately to protect your legal rights and preserve the evidence.  The laws and time limitations can be complex so protect your legal rights by contacting the Law Offices of Gary A Kessler today.

CHP is investigating.

A big-rig driver choking on his lunch on Interstate 80 passed out, veered across the freeway near Davis and slammed head-on into a sedan Thursday, killing the car’s driver and a passenger, authorities said.

Both directions of the freeway were shut down for hours after the crash near Old Davis Road at 10:36 a.m.

The trucker lost consciousness as he choked on his food while driving east on I-80, said Officer Chris Parker, a California Highway Patrol spokesman. His truck swerved to the right, glanced off the guardrail and struck two cars as it veered back to the left, Parker said.

The truck then crashed through the center divide guardrail and struck a westbound BMW head-on, killing the car’s driver and a passenger, Parker said.

The big rig then pushed the car to the westbound shoulder and caught fire.

At some point the trucker’s air passage cleared and he regained consciousness. He escaped with minor to moderate injuries and was being held for questioning by CHP officers.

Investigators have not released his name or the names of the victims in the BMW near the Yolo-Solano County line. The drivers of the other two cars hit by the truck suffered minor injuries.

A truck driver jumped or fell to his death along a mountain highway, leaving a runaway rig to jackknife across an entire road until it crushed an oncoming car, killing that driver and injuring the passenger, investigators say.

A mechanical inspection will be conducted on the three-axle flatbed truck to determine whether its brakes failed prior to the wreck, which closed Highway 330 between Highland and the mountaintop town of Running Springs from about 2:30 p.m. until well beyond sunset Monday, Oct. 22.

“We have no witnesses who saw the collision, so it’s undetermined whether he was ejected … or otherwise,” California Highway Patrol Officer Gary Fernandez said.

Killed were the drivers of the truck and a white 2005 Acura RL.

The car’s passenger — a 58-year-old woman — was taken to a hospital for treatment of chest and left leg pain and scrapes to her right hand, Fernandez said.

Both occupants of the car are from the Big Bear area, but none of the three victims’ names have been released.

“He’s a real nice guy. He was the life of the crew,” concrete company official Art Rodriguez said of the truck driver, whom he said was married and the father of four children. “Very easy going. He always offered (his assistance) if anybody needed help.”

The driver was part of a five-man crew that had been returning from a Big Bear-area jobsite to the Monrovia headquarters of Cell-crete Specialty Concrete Contractors, said Rodriguez, the firm’s safety director.

The crew’s other four workers were following in a pickup well behind the flatbed truck, which was pulling a trailer loaded with a Bobcat earthmover and a forklift. The pickup wasn’t involved in the accident.

The wreck began on a straight stretch of Highway 330 when the truck left the road and climbed a hillside, then veered back onto the highway, said Fernandez, the CHP officer.

Soon after that, the truck driver flew out of the cab and died where he fell. But the truck rolled on for about another 150 feet.

“We now have a driverless truck continuing (downhill and veering) into the up-bound lane,” Fernandez said. “It’s jackknifing and is across both lanes. The Acura had nowhere to go and drove under the flatbed truck.”

Fire crews had to cut the couple free of the car’s wreckage.