UPDATE (March 21, 2023): Local media now identifies the man killed in the accident as 30-year-old Steven Tadeo. Additional details surrounding the crash remain under investigation at this time.
Sutter County, CA — March 19, 2023, a Westwood man was killed following an accident where his vehicle crashed into a truck on Highway 99.
Investigators said that the incident happened at around 12:00 p.m. in the area of Highway 99 and Oswald Road south of Yuba City.
It appears that an unidentified 30-year-old Westwood man was in a pickup going northbound on the highway. At Oswald road, it appears that a semi-truck attempted a left turn onto the highway. As it was turning, the pickup crashed into the side of the truck.
Due to the collision, the Westwood man sustained fatal injuries. No other injuries were reported. At this time, the exact factors surrounding the crash are under investigation.
Commentary by Attorney Michael Grossman
To be rather blunt, I find it challenging to envision a scenario here where the truck driver’s actions didn’t get a man killed. The images I can find of this intersection appear to show that traffic going on the highway doesn’t have any kind of control device. In other words, someone turning onto the highway apparently would have to yield the right-of-way to highway traffic no matter where they’re coming from (in the area of this particular crash). So how exactly could this have happened without the truck driver making a serious mistake?
Experience tells me there aren’t many likely scenarios where that would be true. In almost every situation like this I’ve looked into throughout my career, it turned out the truck driver was being reckless. Could it be they were on their phone? Not diligent in looking for cross traffic? Not experienced with commercial truck driving? Were there other extenuating circumstances authorities aren’t looking into thoroughly enough?
It’s entirely possible this is an unusual situation neither driver had control over. But at noon on a relatively wide, open roadway, I just can’t help wondering if this man would still be alive had there been a more responsible driver behind the wheel of the truck involved.
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