Adams County, PA — December 22, 2023, Sara Gifford was killed due to an 18-wheeler accident at around 4:00 p.m. along Route 15.
According to current statements in the news, Adams County officials were called out to the area of Route 15 and Bonners Hill Road, just north of York Springs.
Details at this time say that 35-year-old Sara Gifford was in a vehicle going northbound along the highway. At the intersection with Bonners Hill, authorities say a tractor-trailer was attempting to make a left turn across the highway to go southbound. As it turned, Gifford’s vehicle crashed underneath the trailer.
As a result of the collision, Gifford was killed. There were no other reported injuries. Currently, it’s unclear if authorities are considering charges or citations. The accident remains under investigation.
Commentary by Attorney Michael Grossman
I suspect most people will read about this crash and assume that the commercial vehicle is to blame for the crash. In fact, I think those same people will think that it’s so obvious they go on with their day and don’t give this crash another thought. That’s generally a mistake.
For starters, a young woman lost her life and her family just heard the worst news anyone can ever receive. That alone is enough to pause. Further, just because it seems exceptionally likely that the 18-wheeler did not pull out at a safe time, doesn’t mean the trucking company will step up and do the right thing.
I speak from experience on this point. I recently litigated a case with a very similar fact pattern. My client crashed into a trailer that was blocking the highway, while it’s driver was turning left. You might think this was an open and shut case, but it wasn’t. The force of the crash caused my client’s car’s speedometer to break and was stuck reading 55 mph. Attorneys for the trucking company attempted to introduce this evidence as proof that my client didn’t apply his brakes, and was responsible for his own crash. Of course, they ignored the fact that the speed limit on the highway was 70mph, so my client was either driving 15 mph under the speed limit, or he did in fact brake when he became aware of the danger. We eventually prevailed in the case, but had my staff and I not laid the groundwork to rebut this claim, there’s a chance it would have prevailed in front of a jury.
I mention all this because with a couple of exceptions, it doesn’t matter how obvious fault is in a crash, there’s a defense attorney out there who thinks he can get a trucking company off the hook. That’s something that the general public rarely considers. This really matters because far too often victim’s families are unprepared for these tactics. In these instances, the shock of losing a loved one is quickly followed by another shock, the people responsible won’t accept accountability for their actions. While I wish that weren’t the case, that’s usually the reality of crashes involving commercial vehicles.
call us 
Email Us 
Text us