Callahan County, TX — November 24, 2025, Luis Montalvo was killed in a truck accident at about 2:20 a.m. on Interstate 20 east of Abilene.
A preliminary accident report indicates that a 2013 Ram 1500 allegedly was heading the wrong way on westbound I-20 when it collided with a 2022 Kenworth semi-truck and a 2020 Ram 3500 hauling a trailer near County Road 102.
Abilene resident Luis Carlos Montalvo, the 67-year-old driver of the 2013 Ram, died in the crash, according to the report.
The two people in the other Ram suffered minor injuries, the report states, while the Kenworth driver was not hurt.
Authorities have not released any additional information about the Callahan County crash at this time.
Commentary by Attorney Michael Grossman
When people hear about a wrong-way crash involving a pickup and an 18-wheeler, most assume it’s an open-and-shut case. A driver went the wrong way on the highway and collided with others; what more is there to say? But in cases like this, especially those involving multiple vehicles and a fatality, I’ve learned there’s often more to the story than first meets the eye.
What’s unclear right now is what led the 2013 Ram to be traveling the wrong direction on I-20. The report says it was going the wrong way on the westbound side and collided with both a Kenworth semi and another pickup hauling a trailer. But it doesn’t say how long it had been traveling the wrong way, how fast the vehicles were going or even which vehicle hit which. That’s not a minor oversight. It leaves key facts up in the air that could determine who’s really responsible.
For example, depending on whether the 18-wheeler struck the oncoming pickup or vice versa, different questions arise. Was the semi-driver able to see the wrong-way vehicle in time to react? Was the truck moving at highway speed or stopped in the lane due to an earlier crash or breakdown? Did the semi block the pickup’s escape route or did the wrong-way vehicle cross multiple lanes before impact? Without answers to these questions, any guess about what happened is just that: a guess.
Getting to the bottom of this means collecting evidence from all the vehicles involved. That includes engine control module (ECM) data from the 18-wheeler, which tells us how fast it was going, when it braked and whether the driver took any evasive action. If there were dash cameras or in-cab surveillance, they could show what the driver saw, or failed to see. Cell phone records might reveal whether anyone was distracted in the moments leading up to the crash.
And beyond the crash itself, it’s worth asking whether the trucking company followed proper hiring and training procedures. I handled a case where a trucking company put a driver on the road who had been fired multiple times and was barely tested before being handed the keys. It turned out the company’s poor hiring practices were a bigger factor in the crash than the driver’s own decisions. We don’t yet know if something like that played a role here, but that’s exactly why a thorough investigation is necessary.
Key Takeaways:
- The report doesn’t clarify how or why the pickup was going the wrong way or how each vehicle contributed to the crash.
- Critical evidence like ECM data, dash cams and phone records can reveal what actions, if any, drivers took to avoid the collision.
- Without those details, it’s impossible to know whether the semi-truck driver or their employer bears any share of responsibility.
- Thorough investigation, not assumptions, is the only way to determine who should be held accountable.
- Multiple parties may be responsible in multi-vehicle crashes, especially when commercial vehicles are involved.
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