Milwaukee, WI — October 24, 2024, one person was killed due to a commercial truck accident at around 3:30 p.m. along Appleton Avenue.
Investigators said that the incident took place at the intersection of Appleton Avenue and 76th Street.
According to officials, an unidentified 37-year-old was in a passenger vehicle going straight through the intersection. From video of the crash, a commercial truck can be seen making a left turn across the lanes of the oncoming passenger vehicle. As the truck turned, the passenger vehicle crashed into it.
The driver of the passenger vehicle ultimately succumbed to the injuries sustained in the crash. There did not appear to be any other injuries. At this time, additional details are unavailable.
Commentary by Attorney Michael Grossman
Even with video of the crash, it’s important to note there could be many contributing factors here that have yet to be properly analyzed. As such, nothing I say here is intended to draw any conclusions or to claim what did or didn’t cause this crash. Instead, I want to emphasize the importance of following evidence like what’s been shown in the news as far as it can go rather than only considering surface-level details. Allow me to explain.
The video published in the news appears to show traffic moving in both directions while vehicles waiting to turn left are yielding to oncoming traffic. Two vehicles appear to pass the truck before it begins to turn, and during the turn is when the fatal collision happens. While it hasn’t been confirmed by authorities, it would seem that the victim may have had the right-of-way when this collision occurred. Let’s say for the sake of discussion that proves to be true. Wouldn’t that make this open-and-shut? Not necessarily.
It’s important to know both what happened as well as why it happened. If, for example, a driver fails to yield, why did they make that mistake? Were they distracted? Are they an inexperienced driver who wasn’t trained properly? Are they a driver with a history of reckless behavior, but their employer didn’t care about the risks of hiring them? Were they rushing through the light because their employer expected them to meet unreasonable deadlines and encouraged cutting corners? Does the driver have co-workers out there making similar mistakes on a regular basis?
What sometimes seems to be just an individual’s mistake can turn out to be a symptom of a larger issue. I’ve handled hundreds of commercial vehicle accident cases, and authorities often let negligent employers off the hook. When their efforts focus solely on the crash scene itself, important details beyond their narrow scopes simply slips through the cracks when it could otherwise be used to get victims and families the resolution they deserve.
That’s why this video, as shocking as it is, raises a concern that it could lead people to jump to conclusions too quickly. Video of a crash is a big piece of evidence, but it’s still just one piece in the larger puzzle accident reconstructionists need to put together. As such, I have to wonder if investigators handling this accident are settling for what seems like easy evidence. A proper reconstruction would explore every possible avenue to ensure the victim’s loved ones know they’re getting the whole story.
