Floyd County, IA — June 4, 2025, Ruby Golnick was killed in a truck accident at about 9:10 a.m. on U.S. Route 18 near Charles City.
Authorities said a 2019 Freightliner semi-truck was heading east when it collided with a 2019 Kawasaki motorcycle.
The motorcyclist, Garner resident Ruby May Golnick, 66, died at the scene of the crash, according to authorities.
The truck driver was not injured, authorities said.
Authorities have not released any additional information about the Floyd County crash. The accident is still being investigated.
Commentary by Attorney Michael Grossman
When people hear that a motorcyclist was killed in a crash with an 18-wheeler, their first question is often: How did this even happen? Especially when a semi-truck collides with a far smaller and more vulnerable vehicle like a motorcycle, it’s natural to wonder what went wrong and whether the crash could have been avoided.
The official reports say the motorcycle and semi-truck collided, but they don’t yet say how. That matters. Was the motorcycle in the truck’s blind spot? Did either vehicle change lanes? Was one stopped or turning? The fact that the victim died at the scene tells us the impact was severe, but not who, if anyone, made a critical mistake. At this point, too many key details remain unanswered.
To get to the bottom of a crash like this, we need more than just a basic police report. Here are some of the key questions that an experienced investigator would pursue:
- Was the truck moving at the time of the crash? If it was stopped or turning, that creates one set of questions. If it was traveling at highway speed, that raises others.
- Did the semi-truck have a dash camera or in-cab monitoring system? Many newer trucks do. These systems can shed light on whether the driver was distracted, made a sudden maneuver or never saw the motorcycle at all.
- What does the black box data show? The truck’s engine control module (ECM) can tell us whether the driver braked, accelerated or swerved before impact.
- Was the truck driver using a cell phone or other device? Phone records can confirm or rule out distraction.
- What was the company’s training and hiring process? I’ve handled cases where a trucking company put a driver on the road who had been fired from multiple jobs and barely evaluated before being hired. If the driver here had a questionable history, that’s something the public deserves to know.
It’s tempting to jump to conclusions, especially when a fatal crash involves a motorcycle and a much larger vehicle. But accountability only works when it’s based on evidence, not assumptions. Depending on how this crash happened, responsibility could fall on the truck driver, the motorcyclist or even a third party like a shipper or a maintenance crew. We can’t know until all the relevant data is gathered and analyzed.
That’s exactly why independent investigations, not just waiting on law enforcement conclusions, are often necessary in these cases. I’ve seen too many situations where the key evidence came from sources like in-cab video or phone metadata, not from the initial crash scene report.
Key Takeaways:
- It’s still unclear how the collision occurred or which vehicle may have contributed to the crash.
- Critical evidence like dash cam footage, black box data and cell phone records will be essential to understanding what went wrong.
- A thorough investigation should also look into the truck driver’s background and the company’s hiring and training procedures.
- Jumping to blame before knowing the facts can obscure the real causes, and the right solutions.
- Only by assembling the full picture can we know who, if anyone, should be held accountable.
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