File 2006.08: Chauhan v. Westmoreland Trucking

Case Type: Pedestrian Accident

Description:
A man walking with a cane crosses an intersection within the crosswalk. Half-way through the intersection, the light turns green and a dump truck stopped across the balk line, with its nose in the crosswalk, accelerates quickly and strikes the man with the front driver-side corner of the truck. The dump truck then continues into the intersection dragging the man with him.

Visualizations Produced:
The intersection was reconstructed in 3D from aerial photos and the dump truck, two witness vehicles and the victim were placed. A camera was then placed in the dump truck at the driver’s seated height to exhibit what the driver could see of the victim as he passed in front of the truck. An animation was created of the driver’s view with the truck across the balk line, illustrating that the driver could barely see the victim. Another animation was created to illustrate what the driver could have seen if he had been stopped behind the balk line. After viewing this animation from an aerial view it was apparent that if the dump truck had been stopped behind the balk line, the accident would not have occurred because the driver could see his entire torso and the victim would have had time to get out of the way; changing the attorney’s approach and making a stronger case.