. . . the officer, who has been with APD for nine years, was responding to a call when the 18-wheeler made a U-turn in front of the officer’s patrol vehicle. The officer then hit the trailer of the 18-wheeler and was pinned underneath it. APD officer ‘fighting for his life’ after crash with 18-wheeler in east Austin
An Austin Police Department officer has died Saturday night following a crash with a tractor trailer Wednesday that sent him to the hospital.
“It is with profound sadness and a heavy heart that I share with you the news that fellow Austin Police Officer Andy Traylor has passed away,” ‘His heroism will live on’: Austin police officer dies after crash with 18-wheeler Wednesday
Because the bottom of a truck is higher than the bumper of passenger vehicles, when there is a collision the smaller vehicle easily slides under the truck and the first point of impact is the windshield. Seatbelts, airbags, and car crumple zones do not function as intended in underride crashes —front, side, and rear — leaving passenger vehicle occupants vulnerable to life-threatening injuries.
See Underride Crash Memorials posted here and at #STOPunderrides Tweets. To add photos or more information on this story or to add other underride crashes to be remembered, send an email to underridemap@gmail.com. Please use this Interactive Underride Crash Map Crash Location Input Form to provide us with accurate information . (Note: the map is currently not online; but we would keep the information for future updating and to aid in underride advocacy efforts.)
Support improving Underride Protection on trailers: Contact your legislators with this User-Friendly TAKE ACTION online tool.
Please sign this petition: Congress, Act Now To End Deadly Truck Underrides.
Note: In order to raise awareness and preserve the memories of underride victims — precious ones gone too soon — I have been writing memorial posts on what appear to me to be underride crashes. I am not a crash reconstructionist, and I do not have all the facts on these crashes; but I think that underride should be investigated as a potential factor in truck crash injuries and deaths.
