Three men were arrested and charged with homicide by motor vehicle in March 2009 in relation to a PA truck accident which took place on January 23, 2009 on the Schuylkill Expressway in Lower Merion, Pennsylvania. This very serious Montgomery County, PA truck accident took the life of David Schreffler, a husband and father of three from Fort Washington, Pennsylvania.
On Friday, June 26, 2009, one of the three men, Valerijs N. Belovs of Northeast Philadelphia, plead guilty to the charge of homicide by motor vehicle in Montgomery County, PA Court, as well as all other charges leveled against him, including recklessly endangering five others.
Mr. Belovs is said to have caused the January 23, 2009 truck accident when he crashed into Mr. Schreffler’s car, which was in front of him as he came at 45 mph speed around the well known Conshohocken curve, unprepared for drivers already around the bend to have been stopped due to heavy traffic volume.
Mr. Belovs was driving a tractor trailer whose brakes were not functioning properly. Once Mr. Belovs hit Mr. Schreffler’s vehicle, a chain reaction involving four additional vehicles occurred. Mr. Schreffler’s passenger, Joseph John Maylish of Media, PA suffered multiple injuries, while Mr. Schreffler was pronounced dead at the scene.
Mr. Belovs admitted in court that he was aware at the time of the Pennsylvania truck accident that his truck had no functioning brakes. Though the 18-wheeler truck Belovs was driving displayed current Pennsylvania inspection stickers, police mechanics who inspected the truck after the crash found the brakes to be severely defective. It appears from the record that Belovs’ truck had prior brake violations.
Brake probems are a common cause of truck accidents in PA and NJ. Whether the brakes are out of alignment or just need to be replaced, many truck drivers and truck companies push their trucks to the limit in order to maximize profit.
When other people are injured or killed by truck accidents caused by defective brakes, the truck drivers and their companies should be held responsible for all injuries others. If they are not help responsible by juries in court, then the dangerous conduct will continue.
