You’ve probably heard of the trolley problem. If you haven’t already, it’s a thought experiment in which an out-of-control trolley is exploding towards a group of people. The ethical dilemma gives the bystander the choice to either let the trolley go ahead and kill a group of people or redirect the cart to another street to attack and kill one person. Earlier this week, a truck driver in Ohio was put in a similar situation and chose no options.
On Tuesday, a school bus was stopped on State Route 57 in Montville, Ohio, 37 miles west of Cleveland. Buses were stopped to pick up students en route to Ralph E. Waite Elementary School. A pickup truck and two SUVs stopped in the opposite lane of two lanes to wait for a bus to withdraw its stop sign.
Going down the road was a heavy truck with no way of stopping. On the tractor’s control camera, you can hear the driver shouting “Stop!” when he honks to warn the vehicles ahead. It was clear that the truck loaded with sand did not stop in time. The driver swerved the truck into the opposite lane to avoid hitting the school bus, but put the pickup truck into the flames.
The pickup driver backed into the SUV behind, but that allowed enough room for the trailer to pass any vehicle without touching a single one. Finally, the tractor-trailer stopped a quarter of a mile from Highway 57.
In an interview with News 5 ClevelandMontville Police Chief Matt Neil said, “I’m glad the crisis has been contained. This can be devastating for our community, for the county, for the entire region. He handled everything in a very professional manner. In 15 seconds, he had to make a decision: Where am I putting this £80,000 truck? ”
Police are investigating the incident to determine exactly why this happened and why the trailer pulled back into the yard after the near miss.
