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54-year old Carl Rayburn Curry was struck and killed by an 18-wheel tractor trailer while trying to change a flat tire. At around 4:30 p.m., an 18-wheeler pulled over to the shoulder of the southbound lane because of a flat tire near mile marker 305. Curry a mechanic and the operator of the service vehicle, was called to the scene to repair the 18-wheeler. Authorities at the scene said another 18-wheeler sideswiped the semi and service truck striking and killing Curry.

This is the type of preventable traffic accident that Alabama’s “move over” law addresses as it tries to protect law enforcement personnel, first responders and other roadside service personnel. The law, passed in Alabama in 2009, makes it a misdemeanor with a $100 fine to fail to change lanes and move over to give law enforcement and service vehicles the room to operate safely on multi-lane, interstate highways when they are called to the scene of an accident or disabled vehicle. Ironically, this “failure to move over” accident occurred close to the start of the annual National Move over Campaign will hold an event in July.

While the details of the accident will be forthcoming, as of now questions surround the accident such as why did the driver of the tractor trailer fail to change lanes when he saw that there was a disabled vehicle and service truck stopped on the shoulder.