Often when people think of truck accidents, they imagine a large 18-wheeler causing extensive amounts of damage and injuries or even death. But not all truck accidents are the fault of the person operating the big rig, even though such enormous vehicles carry a high risk of damage when they're involved in crashes.

A massive chain-reaction crash on Interstate 71 not far from Cincinnati appears to have been caused by the driver of a car. The Ohio State Highway Patrol said a man driving a Mercury Mystique failed to maintain a safe distance from the car in front of it and rear-ended it. The impact pushed that car, a Toyota Matrix, into the next lane over, causing it to crash into a tractor-trailer. As a result, the tractor-trailer traveled to the right and struck a Sprinter van, which was pushed off the right side of the road and onto the highway embankment. Meanwhile, the tractor-trailer overturned, blocking all four lanes of I-71 northbound.

All four drivers were taken to the hospital with injuries, as was the passenger in the Toyota Matrix. The crash remains under investigation by the state Highway Patrol, which said that no drugs or alcohol appeared to be involved. But there's a strong possibility that at least one of the drivers will be held liable for the damage to the vehicles and the injuries of the drivers.

Following too closely behind other cars is a common cause of minor and major crashes. The driver who rear-ended the Toyota certainly didn't anticipate causing a major chain-reaction crash that would shut down the highway for more than an hour, causing traffic to back up for three miles. But this crash demonstrates how quickly a serious accident can happen when drivers don't follow the rules of the road.

Source: Fox 19.com, "State Patrol explains crash that closed I-71 at Mason-Montgomery Rd.," Feb. 21, 2012