Smithfield, NC — October 14, 2024, Joseph Wagner was killed due to a semi-truck hit-and-run accident at around 2:00 a.m. on Business Highway 70.
Initial details about the accident say that it happened outside the Amazon Distribution Center located at 2150 US-70 BUS, northwest of town.
According to state police officials, 52-year-old Joseph Stanley Wagner was on a motorcycle going westbound along U.S. 70 Business. Up ahead, authorities say a tractor-trailer pulled out of the Amazon facility onto highway lanes. That’s when the motorcycle crashed into the 18-wheeler. Wagner died as a result of the collision. The truck driver allegedly left the scene, but it appears authorities arrested a suspect in South Carolina.
Commentary by Attorney Michael Grossman
Right now, the truck driver involved in the accident is facing charges for hit and run causing serious injury or death. Some may see that as the end of the story, but it’s possible that only scratches the surface. I’ve handled hundreds of commercial vehicle accident cases, and families don’t just want some bad guy to blame. They want answers, and they want to see accountability for the wrongs done to them. Achieving that means understanding whether or not this sort of accident was foreseeable and if the truck driver involved worked for an employer whose behavior may have played a role in the crash.
Here’s what that means. Truck drivers who make mistakes often do so in part because an employer fostered conditions which made a mistake all but inevitable. For instance, was the driver pressured to meet unrealistic deadlines that led to them rushing or skipping rest breaks? Was the driver inexperienced and not put through proper training? Did the crash involve a driver with a history of reckless driving? Were there maintenance issues like faulty brakes or tires that were overlooked due to poor maintenance procedures?
These are just some of the questions that a proper, thorough truck accident reconstruction should be able to answer. That’s why it’s important for victims and families affected by deadly truck wrecks to hold authorities to account and ensure their investigations aren’t being too narrow. If authorities are making sure not to leave any unanswered questions, then it’s likely there will ultimately be accountability for the mistakes that led to the crash. If there are stones being left unturned, though, getting answers may require exploring avenues independent of the authorities’ efforts alone.
