California Injury Blog
A Modesto truck driver has been charged with one count of misdemeanor vehicular manslaughter for his role in a fatal truck accident. The truck driver crashed an out of control big rig and killed 9 year old Tyler Fahy of San Mateo on September 22, 2008. According to an article in the San Francisco Examiner, Carlos Siordia, 43, was working for the Hayward-based construction company Century Roof Tile when the heavy-duty truck he was operating blew through an intersection. The large truck smashed into a car and several other cars in the parking lot of a grocery store.
Tyler was in the first vehicle struck by the out-of-control truck and died from his injuries. After a three-month investigation, San Mateo Police Department and California Highway Patrol officials determined that there were no mechanical malfunctions in the vehicle and that Siordia did not act in a grossly negligent manner. They determined that the brakes of the truck were operable as was the emergency brake. Siordia did not have a prior criminal record and had a valid commercial driver’s license. Tyler’s parents, including his mother Adrienne Colao, have sued Century Roof Tile for wrongful death. Colao was in the car when her son was killed.
I wish Tyler’s family the very best with their civil lawsuit. I hope both the truck driver and the trucking company are held liable for the accident and Tyler’s fatal injuries. California leads the nation when it comes to big rig accidents. According to the U.S. Department of Transportation’s truck accident statistics, there were 361 fatal accidents involving large trucks in California in 2007 and 10,635 injury accident involving big rigs during that same time. California tops the list of states with the highest number of fatal and major injury big rig accidents.
I hope the family of Tyler Fahy gets their day in court and gets the justice and compensation they rightfully deserve. There is no question in my mind that this truck driver was negligent and caused an accident that took Tyler Fahy away from his family. Both the driver and his employer should be held liable for this fatal big rig accident.