Dawson County, TX — January 10, 2025, Ivan Trinidad was injured in a truck accident at about 9:30 p.m. on State Highway 137.
A preliminary accident report indicates a northbound 2013 Chevrolet Silverado crashed into the trailer of a 2016 Freightliner Cascadia semi-truck near F.M. 1064.
Silverado driver Ivan Trinidad, 20, was seriously injured in the crash north of Lamesa, according to the report.
The truck driver was not injured, the report states.
Authorities have not released any additional information about the Dawson County crash.
Commentary by Attorney Michael Grossman
When a passenger vehicle crashes into the trailer of a commercial truck, one of the first things I look at is whether that trailer was visible enough to be avoided. Most people assume it’s always the smaller vehicle’s fault in a rear-end or side-impact crash, but visibility issues with trailers, especially at night, can easily turn what should be a near miss into a serious collision.
Trailers are required by federal regulations to have reflectors and working lights to make them clearly visible in low light conditions. However, in many of the cases I’ve worked on, those reflectors are missing, dirty or blocked by road grime, and the trailer’s lights may be non-functional or simply turned off. In a rural area like this stretch of Highway 137, where lighting is limited, a dark or poorly marked trailer can be nearly invisible until it’s too late.
That raises another issue: maintenance. Commercial trucks go through wear and tear constantly, and if the company or driver isn’t diligent about keeping reflectors clean and lights functional, it puts everyone else on the road at risk. It’s not enough to slap some tape on a trailer and call it compliant. It has to be checked and maintained regularly, and many trucking companies fail to meet that standard.
Of course, the only way to get answers in a case like this is through a thorough investigation, which should include documenting the trailer’s lighting and markings, checking maintenance records and confirming whether the driver followed all protocols. These are not details that can be reconstructed weeks later if they’re not collected at the outset.
If this investigation stops at the crash report and never looks at the trailer’s condition or how it was lit, there’s a real possibility that critical facts will be missed. And that means those responsible, if anyone failed to meet their duties, won’t be held accountable.
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