Potter County, TX — October 9, 2025, Abby Skow was injured in a truck accident at about 11:15 p.m. on F.M. 1719/North Western Street.
A preliminary accident report indicates that a southbound 2004 Dodge Dakota crashed into a 1988 Kenworth semi-truck that was driving without its lights on. The truck’s trailer also did not have working taillights.
Dodge driver Abby Skow, 38, was seriously injured in the crash north of Amarillo, according to the report.
The truck driver was not hurt, the report states.
Authorities have not released any additional information about the Potter County crash at this time.
Commentary by Attorney Michael Grossman
When people read about a crash like this, where a pickup reportedly slammed into a semi-truck that had no working lights, they naturally want to know: How does a commercial vehicle end up driving in the dark completely invisible? And how does something so basic go so wrong?
According to initial reports, a Dodge Dakota hit a Kenworth 18-wheeler late at night north of Amarillo. Authorities say the truck didn’t have its lights on: not the headlights, not the trailer taillights. That’s a critical detail. If true, it means the truck may have been effectively invisible until it was too late.
But here’s the thing: we don’t yet know exactly where or how the crash happened. Was the truck stopped on the road or moving? Was it pulling onto the highway from a side road or already traveling in the same lane as the pickup? Each of those possibilities raises different questions, and would require different kinds of evidence to answer.
For example, if the truck was stopped or parked in the lane of travel without lights, that’s a known recipe for disaster. In those cases, I’ve seen dash cam video and black box data reveal more than a dozen seconds of visibility; plenty of time for an alert driver to avoid a well-lit obstacle, but no time at all if the truck is a ghost in the dark. On the other hand, if both vehicles were moving in the same direction, investigators would need to know the truck’s speed, lighting condition and whether its reflective tape was functional.
The report also doesn’t say whether the truck had working marker lights, which are supposed to make the trailer visible from the side. Nor does it explain why the lights were out in the first place. Were they broken? Disconnected? Did the driver even bother to check them before starting the trip?
That kind of information doesn’t come from a police report alone. It comes from a detailed investigation. You need to examine the truck, pull maintenance records and get statements from witnesses or other drivers who may have seen the truck before the crash. I’ve handled cases where a trailer had no working lights because a mechanic installed the wrong pigtail connector. I’ve also seen crashes where drivers failed to do a proper pre-trip inspection, and their company never checked whether they were following the rules in the first place.
Was this a one-time lapse or part of a larger pattern? Did the company have a history of lighting violations? That’s why litigation isn’t just about blaming one person. It’s about uncovering all the decisions that made the crash possible.
Key Takeaways:
- It’s unclear whether the truck was moving or stopped, which is essential to understanding how the crash happened.
- Authorities say the truck had no working lights, making visibility a central issue in the crash.
- Critical evidence includes dash cam footage, black box data and the truck’s lighting maintenance records.
- A proper investigation must also look at the trucking company’s policies and inspection procedures.
- Determining accountability requires more than a police report. It demands a deep look into every link in the chain.
