Salina, NY — February 21, 2025, Anneka Pray, Christopher Baker and Barry Darling were injured in a truck accident at about 6:10 a.m. on Interstate 90/New York State Thruway.
Authorities said a Ford F-550 pulled onto the north shoulder of westbound I-90 to avoid a Chevrolet Silverado that swerved toward it. The Ford was rear-ended by a 2016 Jeep Compass, which bounced back into the passing lane and was hit by a semi-truck.
Jeep passenger Anneka Pray, 18, was hospitalized with critical injuries after the crash, according to authorities, while driver Christopher Baker, 22, suffered serious injuries. Ford driver Barry J. Darling, 41, suffered minor injuries.
The truck driver did not stop after the crash, authorities said. He was located at a service area about 60 miles away, but no charges or citations have been filed at this time.
Authorities have not released any additional information about the Onandaga County crash. The accident is still being investigated.
Commentary by Attorney Michael Grossman
Hit-and-run crashes involving semi-trucks are rare, but when they happen, they raise serious concerns. The fact that the truck driver in this case didn’t stop after hitting the Jeep is troubling. Whether that was intentional or not is an open question, but it’s one that absolutely needs to be answered.
One of the first things investigators should determine is whether the truck driver even knew they were involved in a crash. That may sound strange, but in my experience, it’s not unheard of for truckers to claim they didn’t realize they hit another vehicle. A fully loaded semi can weigh 80,000 pounds, and if the impact was relatively minor from the driver’s perspective, they may have assumed they just ran over road debris or hit a pothole. That’s why reviewing in-cab video, black box data and physical damage to the truck is critical to figuring out what really happened.
Beyond that, there’s the question of whether the truck driver had any legal obligation to stop. In general, drivers involved in a crash — especially one resulting in serious injuries — are required to remain at the scene. But in cases like this, where a vehicle bounces into their path, things get murkier. Did the Jeep’s driver lose control in a way that made the crash unavoidable? Did the truck driver react appropriately? Those details will matter if authorities decide whether to file charges.
This crash also highlights how quickly things can spiral out of control on a busy highway. It started with a Chevrolet Silverado swerving, which forced the Ford F-550 onto the shoulder, which led to the Jeep hitting the Ford, which then sent the Jeep into the path of the semi-truck. That kind of chain reaction isn’t uncommon, but it makes assigning responsibility more complicated. Was the Silverado driver reckless, or did they swerve to avoid something else? Was the Ford’s position on the shoulder a factor? Did the semi-truck driver have enough time to react? These are the kinds of questions that need answers before anyone assumes they know exactly what happened.
The one thing that’s clear is that this investigation needs to go beyond just the crash scene. If the authorities settle for the most obvious explanation, they could be missing key details that explain why this happened and who should be held accountable.
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