A truck driver and his family are searching for answers after a 10 pound hunk of metal flew through his truck cab, leaving him with multiple skull and facial fractures.
Tremaine Breland was heading east on Interstate 10 near the Post Oak exit in Houston, Texas on June 29th in the early afternoon when the 10 pound hunk of metal came flying through his truck windshield. “I can remember everything up until that point,” he says.
The hunk of metal, which looks like a skid from a boat trailer, struck him directly in the head. Thankfully, Breland was able to stay awake just long enough to bring his rig to a stop without hurting anyone else before falling unconscious.
“He has multiple skull fractures, facial fractures, he has orbital fractures,” says wife Carmel Breland to Fox 26. “When they initially took him in for surgery, part of his bone was pushing down into the brain.”
Since then, Breland has had a portion of his skull temporarily removed as he awaits more surgeries, but until that time, he and his family are left wondering who was careless enough to leave such a dangerous object in the road, and why they didn’t secure it properly before setting off along the world’s widest highway.
Most damage done by debris on the highway, such as a cracked windshield, aren’t worth pursuing legally, but attorney Charles Adams says that Texas laws do hold people responsible for road debris that cause damage, and that Breland’s case may be worth pursuing.
“They do have culpability,” Adams says. “There’s several possible defendants. But if you can’t track them down and identify them, then it’s a wrong that lacks any substantive remedy.”
For now, the Brelands have no evidence to go on, and have no idea who is responsible for Tremaine’s horrible injuries. Still, they say they just want people to pay attention and be responsible about what they’re hauling down the road.
“You need to be careful,” says Carmel. “This is stuff you need to make sure is strapped down. You need to make sure it’s tied down, be more vigilant, and don’t be so careless.”
Houston police currently have an active investigation into the accident, and urge anyone who has information about the incident to call the department.