Smith County, TX — December 12, 2025, one person was killed in a truck accident just before midnight on U.S. Route 271 east of Owentown.
Authorities said a semi-truck and a car collided near Interstate 20, with the car ending up stuck under the larger vehicle.
The driver of the car, whose name has not been made public yet, died in the crash, according to authorities.
The truck driver was not injured, authorities said.
Authorities have not released any additional information about the Smith County crash at this time.
Commentary by Attorney Michael Grossman
When people hear that a car ended up pinned underneath a semi-truck, their first question is usually the most important one: How did that happen? We know from reports that a passenger vehicle collided with an 18-wheeler just before midnight and became lodged underneath it. But that bare fact opens up a lot of unanswered questions, and the answers matter greatly when trying to figure out who’s responsible.
At this point, it’s not clear whether the truck struck the car or the car struck the truck. Was the truck moving, merging or stopped when the impact occurred? Depending on how the collision unfolded, different parties might bear responsibility.
One key question is: Where exactly was the truck at the time of the crash? If the truck was merging onto US-271 from I-20 or changing lanes when the crash happened, investigators would want to know whether the driver checked his blind spots or used his turn signal. If the truck was stopped or slow-moving, then we’d want to know if it had proper lighting or reflectors to warn oncoming traffic. And in either case, there’s the question of speed, visibility and reaction time on both sides.
Technology should help tell the story. Modern 18-wheelers are equipped with engine control modules, essentially black boxes, that record speed, braking and steering data. Many rigs also have in-cab cameras that might show what the driver was doing in the moments before the crash. Was he alert? Was he distracted? None of that is clear yet, and we won’t know unless someone makes sure that evidence is preserved and examined.
Beyond the truck itself, the driver’s history and the company’s safety policies may also need scrutiny. Was the driver properly trained? Has he been in other incidents? Did the company run thorough background checks? I’ve handled cases where a trucking company hired a driver with a long trail of red flags, then acted surprised when he caused a fatal wreck. Those kinds of hiring decisions can turn a bad driver into a ticking time bomb on the road.
Investigating a crash like this is not about guesswork or jumping to conclusions. It’s about finding out what the evidence says, and following that trail to whoever made the decisions that led to someone’s death.
Key Takeaways:
- It’s still unclear how the car ended up underneath the truck: was the truck moving, stopped or changing lanes?
- Evidence like black box data and in-cab video could clarify the truck’s behavior and the driver’s actions before the crash.
- The truck driver’s history and the company’s hiring and training practices may also come into play.
- A proper investigation requires preserving and analyzing all available evidence, not just what’s at the crash scene.
- Determining accountability depends on how and why the vehicles came to occupy the same space at the same time.
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