Update (June 19, 2025): Authorities have identified the people involved in this accident as Dodge driver Lonnie Huff, 80, who died in the crash, and Patricia Rosen, 79, the passenger who suffered critical injuries. The driver of the box truck has been charged with first-degree involuntary manslaughter and other felony counts after authorities determined he intoxicated at the time of the crash.
Texas County, MO — June 16, 2025, one person was killed and another was injured in a truck accident at about 10:20 a.m. on State Route 17 north of Houston.
Authorities said a 2014 Dodge Journey was stopped in a construction zone when it was struck from behind by a 2021 International box truck.
The Dodge driver, an 80-year-old Bucyrus man whose name has not been made public, was pronounced dead at the scene of the crash, according to authorities, while a 79-year-old Bucyrus woman was flown to an area hospital with serious injuries.
The truck driver suffered minor injuries in the crash, authorities said.
Authorities have not released any additional information about the Texas County crash at this time. The accident is still under investigation.
Commentary by Attorney Michael Grossman
When someone gets rear-ended by a commercial truck while stopped in a construction zone, the first question that comes to mind is: how does something like that happen? Construction zones are marked. Speeds are reduced. Drivers are expected to be alert. So when a truck plows into a stopped vehicle and takes someone’s life, we have to ask whether the trucker was paying attention, and if not, why?
At this point, we know the SUV was stopped, the box truck hit it from behind, and one person is dead while another is seriously hurt. But that bare-bones outline leaves a lot unsaid. For instance:
- Was the truck driver distracted? Cell phone records and in-cab cameras can shed light on whether the driver’s eyes were on the road or somewhere else. I’ve handled cases where a simple phone call or text message caused a fatal delay in reaction time.
- Was the truck speeding or braking too late? The truck’s engine control module (ECM), often called the black box, can provide a detailed log of speed, braking and throttle in the moments before the crash. That’s key in figuring out whether this was a sudden, unavoidable chain reaction or a long-building failure to adjust.
- Was this a single-vehicle failure or part of a pattern? That includes the driver’s history, the trucking company’s training and hiring practices and whether their trucks have a record of similar crashes. I’ve litigated cases where drivers had bounced between multiple employers due to poor safety records, only to be hired again without proper evaluation.
Depending on whether the truck was traveling too fast for conditions, whether the driver was distracted or whether faulty brakes played a role, different kinds of accountability come into play. But what’s certain is that none of that gets answered without a thorough independent investigation.
The official report may offer a few lines of basic facts, but it’s the evidence behind those facts — ECM downloads, GPS data, witness interview and dash cam footage — that tells the real story.
Key Takeaways
- Rear-end collisions in work zones demand a close look at speed, attention and vehicle readiness.
- Truck ECMs and in-cab cameras are critical tools for reconstructing events.
- Distraction, fatigue and improper training are all potential culprits in crashes like this.
- A trucking company’s hiring and oversight practices may bear just as much scrutiny as the driver’s actions.
- Without a deep dive into the available evidence, it’s impossible to know who should be held accountable, or how.
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