Towing wreck - overloaded hitch

Turtle n Peeps wrote:
Manufactures ratings (door sticker) has no legal ramifications. It is strictly for warrantee.

While the door sticker may or may not be a indicator of absolute limits and you may not be prosecuted for exceeding them, the info on the sticker could definitely be used against you as evidence at a criminal trial or a civil suit. Willfully exceeding designed limitations won't work in your favor.

From reading another article an officer is quoted as saying, "The trailer became dislodged from the van and we don't know yet why." The hitch on the van looks like it's fully intact so it sounds like the trailer just wasn't hitched up properly. It's sad that a couple of simple safety chains could have prevented this.