Miami, FL — November 11, 2024, one person was killed due to a semi-truck accident at around 3:00 a.m. along Miami Gardens Drive.
Authorities said they were called to the Publix Distribution Warehouse area at N.W. 183rd/Miami Gardens Drive and Miami Court, just east of 2nd Avenue/U.S. 441.
According to officials, a driver was in a Ford F-250 driving eastbound on Miami Gardens Drive. At the Publix Distribution Warehouse, reports say a truck exited the warehouse and attempted a left turn across Miami Gardens Drive. As it did so, the pickup crashed into the side of the trailer, wedging beneath it.
Due to the collision, the driver of the pickup was killed. Reports have yet to identify the victim. The truck reportedly stayed at the scene, and no charges or citations have been reported at this time.
Commentary by Attorney Michael Grossman
Something I’ve seen mentioned in a couple of reports is authorities claiming the victim was going at high speeds and “failed to slow down.” To be clear, I don’t have any more information on this particular crash than anyone else in the general public. What I do have, though, is 30 years of experience handling hundreds of commercial vehicle accident cases. I’ve seen many situations where authorities blamed a driver for not slowing down only for evidence to eventually show the victim had no way of avoiding a collision. Is that possibility being considered here?
Let me given an example from a case I had not long ago. In that case, authorities told a family their loved one was speeding, not wearing their seatbelt, and failed to slow down approaching an 18-wheeler that was making a left turn across a dark highway. How did authorities come to this conclusion? Well, that’s what the truck driver told them. The victim wasn’t able to speak on their own behalf, so authorities just took the surviving truck driver at his word. It was only after our more thorough independent investigations that the truth came to light.
For one, the victim hadn’t been speeding. Debris analysis, laser mapping, and a speedometer that froze on impact all supported that the victim had been traveling at reasonable speeds. Secondly, numerous emergency responders testified they actually had to cut through the victim’s seatbelt to get them out of the car, proving they had their seatbelt on. And one of the most important details we uncovered was that the reflective tape along the truck’s trailer was so caked in dirt that it would have been all but invisible at the time of the collision. It was only after putting together this mountain of convincing evidence that the family was able to set the record straight and see a just resolution to the wrongs done to them.
It could be that similar independent investigations here would corroborate what authorities are saying in their preliminary statements. Even if that happened, though, there would still need to be an explanation for whether or not it was reasonable for the truck driver to attempt making the left turn. Was the victim’s vehicle not visible? Why didn’t the truck driver wait for the victim to pass? Was the driver distracted? Are trucks at this particular intersection known for pulling out in front of people or hastily entering the roadway? Have accidents happened here before? Did this involve unusual circumstances the truck driver simply had no control over? It just seems like there are far too many unanswered questions right now, and people may be too focused on looking for someone to blame rather than waiting for all the facts. I can only hope steps are being taken to ensure the victim’s loved ones aren’t being left in the dark. They deserve to know what happened here and how all of this could have been avoided.
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