Update (April 30, 2025): Authorities said the Subaru driver, identified as Maranda Rice, 32, of Colfax, died April 30 from injuries sustained in the accident.
Boone County, IN — April 28, 2025, four people were injured in a trash truck accident at about 3:10 p.m. on U.S. Route 52.
Authorities said a Subaru Legacy crashed into the back of a trash truck that had stopped near County Road 650.
The driver of the Subaru was knocked unconscious in the crash, according to authorities. She and three children were hospitalized with serious injuries.
Authorities have not released any additional information about the crash east of Thorntown. The accident is still being investigated.
Commentary by Attorney Michael Grossman
When a passenger vehicle crashes into the back of a stopped trash truck, the initial legal assumption is often that the driver of the car was at fault. But crashes like this one on U.S. Route 52 in Boone County are rarely that simple. The key question here is whether the trash truck was stopped in a safe and legal manner, and whether it was visible and clearly marked at the time of the collision.
Trash trucks operate in a unique category of roadway use. They make frequent stops, often in places where other drivers don’t expect a large vehicle to come to a halt. That’s why they’re required to follow specific rules to reduce the risk of rear-end collisions: using flashing lights, reflective markings and, in many areas, stopping only in locations where other drivers can reasonably see and respond to their presence.
If the truck stopped suddenly, stopped without warning or stopped just over a hill or around a curve, those details could significantly change the legal picture. Investigators should also determine whether the truck was actively collecting trash, simply idling in traffic or stopped for another reason entirely. The purpose of the stop, along with the timing and location, will help establish whether it was foreseeable and avoidable from the perspective of the Subaru driver.
It’s also worth examining whether the Subaru driver had sufficient time to react. Was the driver distracted? Was there any mechanical failure or roadway condition that limited her ability to brake or swerve? Those factors are important but shouldn’t be assumed, especially not in a case where children were seriously hurt and the driver was reportedly knocked unconscious, which likely limited her ability to explain what happened at the scene.
The trash truck itself may be equipped with GPS data or cameras that could provide a more complete picture of the stop: how long the truck had been stationary, whether its warning systems were activated and how visible it was to approaching drivers. That evidence will be critical in determining whether the truck driver upheld the duty of care that applies when operating a large, slow-moving vehicle on a highway.
Rear-end collisions often get treated as open-and-shut, but they shouldn’t be, particularly when one of the vehicles involved is a commercial truck with special responsibilities. This investigation needs to focus not just on who struck whom, but whether the truck’s presence in the roadway created an unreasonable hazard that couldn’t have been avoided with normal caution. Because when a vehicle carrying a mother and three children ends up in the hospital, we owe it to them to ask all the right questions before assuming anything.
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