Waverly, LA — July 10, 2025, Charles Moore was killed in a truck accident at about 5 a.m. on westbound Interstate 20 near State Highway 557.
Authorities said a 2024 International semi-truck crashed into the back end of a 2017 Freightliner semi-truck that was parked in the median, then hit a tree on the right side of the road.
The International driver, 26-year-old Charles Moore of Meridian, MS, was pronounced dead at the scene of the crash, according to authorities.
No other injuries were reported.
Authorities have not released any additional information about the Madison Parish crash at this time. The accident is still under investigation.
Commentary by Attorney Michael Grossman
When people hear about a crash like this, they’re bound to ask: How does something like that even happen? After all, 18-wheelers aren’t exactly nimble vehicles, and drivers are trained to scan the road well ahead. So how does one end up plowing into a parked truck in the median, especially on a straight stretch of Interstate?
At this point, there’s very little public information about why this crash happened. All we know is that a 2024 International semi hit the rear of a 2017 Freightliner that was “parked in the median” before veering off and striking a tree. That detail alone raises some serious unanswered questions.
Was the parked truck disabled, or had it pulled over temporarily? If so, was it entirely in the median, or was part of it sticking into a travel lane? Was it marked with reflective triangles or flares, as required by federal regulations? And perhaps most importantly: Was it legally parked there at all? Depending on where the Freightliner was positioned, that could significantly affect who bears responsibility for this crash.
Then there’s the question of what the moving truck driver was doing in the moments leading up to the crash. Was the driver distracted? Asleep? Suffering from a medical issue? It’s not clear. But if investigators want answers, they’ll need to look at cell phone records, in-cab video, and the truck’s engine control module data to reconstruct what was going on in those final seconds. That data can show everything from speed and braking to whether the driver made any steering inputs before impact.
I’ve worked on more than a few cases where a fatal crash like this turned out to be the result of overlapping errors; sometimes by the driver, but often by the trucking company as well. In one case, we uncovered that a driver was hired after flunking out of multiple jobs, and the company that put her behind the wheel barely tested her skills. It wasn’t just about what happened in the cab that day; it was about all the bad decisions that put her there in the first place.
That’s why it’s important not to jump to conclusions. A thorough investigation is the only way to find out who was really at fault, whether it was the driver who struck the parked truck, the driver of the parked truck for being somewhere they shouldn’t have been or the companies behind either one.
Key Takeaways:
- It’s unclear why the parked Freightliner was in the median or whether it was legally and safely positioned.
- Investigators should examine cell phone records, dash cam footage and ECM data to understand the actions of the moving truck before impact.
- Responsibility could rest with either driver or their respective companies, depending on parking legality, visibility and driver behavior.
- Critical evidence like driver logs, training records and company safety policies may reveal deeper causes beyond what happened at the crash site.
- Getting answers will depend on an independent investigation that looks past surface details and digs into what led to this fatal outcome.
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