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Failure to Provide Safety Training and Truck Maintenance Causes Devastation and Death

PALM BEACH, FL - On the morning of December 27, 1999, the Miller/Yoder family were traveling through South Carolina on I-95 on their way to a family funeral in Ohio. Little did they know that just hours before, a driver of a tractor-trailer had parked his trailer just inches inside the fog line, turned the trailer's lights off, improperly set out the Department of Transportation (DOT) required reflective triangles and abandoned his trailer. As a result of the hazard created by the truck driver, the driver of the Chrysler mini-van was guided by the improperly placed reflective triangles directly into the rear of the abandoned tractor-trailer.

As a result of the collision the van burst into flames, thus trapping the family inside the van. Inside the van were Eldon Miller, age 31, and his wife Carol, 32, their only child Rachel, 18 months, Eldon's sister Rhonda Yoder, 37, and her two children Tyler, 9, and Christopher, 5. All but Rachael and Tyler were killed.

Dorchester Dirt Company, owner of the tractor-trailer, had sent a convoy of three of their drivers to Georgia for a pick-up. On their return, Eric Osborne's truck had broken down. As a result of the breakdown he parked his tractor-trailer in the emergency lane on I-95 just inches inside the fogline. The other drivers stopped to inspect Osborne's truck, and senior driver Larry Thigpen, instructed Osborne to pull his tractor/trailer further away from the travel lanes into an open grassy area.

Unfortunately Osborne ignored this advice and began placing reflective triangles behind the truck, though admitting he did not know the federal requirements for placement and admitted he did not place the reflectors according to the law. Osborne also made the conscious decision to turn off all of the lights on the tractor-trailer, including emergency flashers. All of these actions and decisions led to creating an extremely hazardous conditions to on coming traffic.

Testimony of the Dorchester's Safety Manager Bill Rhodes and of the drivers established that the drivers never received any training from the company with regard to emergency procedures including what to do when trucks breakdown. Rhodes testified that he expects his drivers to know these things and he doesn't run a training facility.

Federal Regulations including Dorchester's own internal policies required drivers to check the hub oil level during their pre and post trip vehicle inspections. Mr. Osborne admitted that he did not check the hub oil levels. Had he been properly trained and performed the appropriate maintenance, the truck would not have broken down and this tragedy would have been avoided.

The Yoder/Miller case against Dorchester Dirt Company has been settled. Though the case is settled our hope is that companies such as Dorchester will take the appropriate steps to properly train it's employees and follow federally mandated guidelines in order to protect the motoring public. Obviously no amount of money or apology will return this family's love ones to them.