Raleigh County, WV — April 23, 2025, Macdiel Labrada and Daikel Perdomo were killed in a truck accident at approximately 5:00 a.m. along Interstate Highway 64.
According to authorities, 33-year-old Macdiel Labrada and 41-year-old Daikel Perdomo were traveling in an 18-wheeler hauling a load of watermelons on I.H. 64 in the vicinity east of Pluto Road when the accident took place.
The cause of the accident remains unclear. Officials indicate that, for reasons yet to be confirmed, the truck failed to safely maintain its lane of travel. It reportedly strayed off of the side of the roadway, crashing through a guardrail and barreling down a steeply graded embankment before coming to a stop.
Both Labrada and Perdomo had to be extracted from the wreckage by emergency personnel. Reports state that each of them had suffered fatal injuries over the course of the accident; they were declared deceased at the scene. Preliminary reports have stated that brake failure may have had something to do with the accident. Additional details pertaining to this incident are not available at this point in time. The investigation is currently ongoing.
Commentary by Attorney Michael Grossman
In my experience, when a commercial truck leaves the roadway and crashes with this level of violence—especially on a steep grade—the first place investigators need to look is the mechanical condition of the vehicle. A driver’s skills and judgment are critical, but they don’t matter much if the truck itself can’t respond the way it’s supposed to. Reports that brake failure may have played a role here suggest that this crash wasn’t just a matter of bad luck; it may have been the result of a breakdown in basic maintenance and safety oversight.
Commercial trucks are required by law to undergo regular inspections, with particular attention to the braking systems. Brakes take a beating under heavy loads, especially in mountainous or steep terrain, and companies are expected to know when it’s time for repair or replacement. If maintenance is neglected—or if warning signs are ignored—the truck becomes a danger not only to its drivers, but to everyone sharing the road with it.
The load itself also matters. A truck hauling watermelons would be carrying significant weight, and improper loading or overloading can put additional stress on brakes and steering systems. That’s why it’s important to examine not just the mechanical condition of the truck, but also the load manifests, weight tickets, and any communications between the driver and their dispatch or supervisors leading up to the crash.
If the 18-wheeler was operating under a commercial carrier, that company’s practices are going to be a critical part of the investigation. Were they performing regular inspections as required? Were they cutting corners on maintenance to save costs? Were they training their drivers on how to safely manage loads on steep grades and what steps to take if equipment began to fail? These are the kinds of operational decisions that often separate a crash that could not be avoided from one that could—and should—have been prevented.
From where I sit, a wreck that claims two lives and involves a possible mechanical failure demands a full accounting—not just of what went wrong on the roadway, but of what decisions were made long before the trip even began. Only with that information can the right parties be held accountable and those affected by the wreck receive the clarity and closure they deserve.
call us 
Email Us 
Text us