Coppell, TX — September 20, 2024, 49-year-old Maribel Vera was injured in a collision with an 18-wheeler on State Highway 121 in Dallas County.
Authorities say the incident happened around 4:40 a.m. on the 700 block of Highway 121. Preliminary investigation suggests a Peterbilt semi-truck was towing a trailer north in lane 2 of the 5-lane roadway when Maribel Vera began to merge onto the northbound highway from a nearby on-ramp.
Investigators say the Peterbilt truck encountered plastic debris that somehow got tangled in the truck’s air brakes. The brakes reportedly locked up due to the plastic’s interference, and the truck swerved to the right toward the on-ramp. The truck’s front-left quarter then struck Vera’s Honda Odyssey minivan, pushing it off the roadway and into a nearby ditch.
Maribel Vera suffered serious injuries in the crash; the truck driver reportedly received minor injuries.
No further details are currently available.
Commentary by Attorney Michael Grossman
Obviously a big chunk of plastic in the road presents a serious hazard to passing traffic, but I can’t help but have some questions about what I’m reading here. What kind of debris was it that it managed to tangle up the truck’s air brakes to the point of rendering them useless? If it was big enough to cause that much mayhem, was it visible on the road as the truck approached? If not, why not? If so, why couldn’t the truck driver avoid it? Did anyone else witness what happened that morning? Accepting for the moment that the truck’s brakes were inoperable, why did that cause the truck to swerve dramatically? Did the driver just panic? Was he not trained in coming to a safe stop if his primary brakes failed?
I’m not saying I know for a fact that things should have gone another way. I’m just not sure I understand how obstructed brakes led to the truck driver veering into another vehicle. One doesn’t seem to naturally lead to the other, which makes me wonder if the driver acted as a reasonably prudent professional should have in those circumstances. If not, then he and his employer may be liable for the damage done in that crash. Only time and a more thorough investigation could say with more certainty, but I think we can all agree the victim deserves no less than the whole story. Will someone make sure she gets it?
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