Dangerous I-95 Overpass in South Florida
The family of Richard Randolph are mourning their untimely loss of his life this week, following a tragedy on an I-95 overpass in Boca Raton in which the 69-year-old tow truck worker fell to his death while on the job.
The job he was cleaning up was caused by a commercial semi-truck owned by JJR Transport & Logistics, operated by driver Adrian Figueredo of Miami, Florida. Figueredo intended to enter the highway at the Congress Ave overpass in Boca Raton, when he overshot the entrance, swerved, and crashed the semi-truck into the barrier, causing it to hover slightly over the southbound I-95 lane.
Mr. Randolph was called to the scene by his employer, Emerald Towing. He was a revered veteran in the tow truck community. Mr. Randolph and his wife, Judy, were looking forward to a looming retirement date. They undoubtedly had grand plans for the future that were cut short on the morning of April 12th, 2017, when Figueredo crashed his semi.
Sadly, Mr. Randolph fell to his death while doing his job trying to right the leaning truck.
This Congress and I-95 overpass in Boca Raton is extremely dangerous
Statistics show that the Congress Ave and I-95 overpass in Boca Raton could be the most dangerous exit and entrance ramp in South Florida, with more than 150 crashes there since 2011. Three fatalities have occurred as a result of those crashes, and more than half resulting in injuries, according to a Palm Beach Post report.
According to news reports, at least five of those crashes have occurred there in the last year, the most recent crash before the incident involve Mr. Rudolph happening just two weeks prior.
Why is this overpass so dangerous? According to semi-truck drivers who have crashed in the area, the entrance ramp to I-95 southbound is easy to miss. The southbound exit is similarly difficult to navigate, with many drivers making the mistake of turning left towards a retainer wall, instead of merging right off the ramp. If you miss the entrance, the end of the ramp and a steep drop-off is just about a hundred yards away.
However, Florida Highway Patrol insists that the common culprit is truck drivers either driving too fast or not paying attention, or both.
A Dangerous Overpass: I-95 and Congress in Boca Raton
In the case of Figueredo, FHP has charged him with a crime in connection with the wreck that led to Mr. Rudolph’s death: exceeding the maximum number of hours a commercial truck driver can operate his or her vehicle.
Who is responsible for the death of Mr. Rudolph, and why a wrongful death lawsuit should be filed
This is a situation in which Mr. Rudolph’s death was completely and utterly avoidable. That’s because had Figueredo not broken the law by driving for too many consecutive hours, he could have been more attentive while he was behind the wheel at the time of the wreck.
Signs and markers are posted along the ramps, directing traffic onto the southbound entrance ramp – it seems Figueredo was driving too fast, and possibly exhausted, or at the very least, inattentive.
The crash caused by Figueredo brought Mr. Rudolph to the scene. While we don’t know exactly why Mr. Rudolph fell (that will be determined by OSHA), we do know that he was an experienced and seasoned professional. His death was the result of mitigating, negligent factors.
The family should consider hiring a personal injury law firm with experience handling serious wrongful death claims, such as our firm. We handled the wrongful death suit in the 2014 death of a tow truck driver in Jacksonville, Florida, in which we obtained a $6,500,000 settlement on behalf of his surviving family.
If you or someone you know has died as the result of another’s negligent semi-truck crash, please contact our law firm today for an immediate, private, and free consultation with Mr. Craig Goldenfarb, Esq.
