The family of a young man killed in a chain reaction crash with a semi truck is pushing for mandatory driver-facing cameras in the wake of the tragic accident.
The May 13th accident happened in north Georgia on Interstate 75 when a semi truck collided with a sedan and veered across the median and into oncoming traffic. 23-year-old Mason Powell was one of the three people killed in the accident, including the 50-year-old truck driver William West.
Now, Powell’s family is advocating for mandatory driver-facing cameras in an attempt to prevent these kinds of accidents from happening. They have partnered with the Truck Safety Coalition, a non-profit that lobbies lawmakers for increased oversight and safety enforcement in the trucking industry. With the help of the organization, the family is calling for stricter federal regulations on safety for truckers overall, as well as mandatory driver-facing cameras to monitor their behavior and attention to the road.
“We need cameras in every cab to make sure drivers are paying attention to the road,” said family friend Jeff Klusmeier to CBS 12. “These crashes affect real people, real families.”
“Mason’s death should not be in vain – nor should the deaths of so many others lost to tractor trailer accidents. But sadly, tragedies like these are becoming far too common. It feels like society is growing numb to them – treating each loss as just another statistic, just another headline, just another number on a chart,” his friend wrote in a statement. “Let Mason’s name stand for more than tragedy. Let it stand for action. For awareness. For a safety [sic.] future.”
“Mason’s life mattered, and this affected so many people,” said his mother, Janie Powell. “We won’t stop fighting for change.”