Susan Komanetsky Killed in Truck Accident in Crane County, TX

Crane County, TX — April 16, 2025, Susan Komanetsky was killed in a truck accident at about 10:20 a.m. on F.M. 1053 near Monahans.

Authorities said a northbound 2016 Freightliner Cascadia semi-truck veered into the wrong lane after a tire blowout north of F.M. 1233. It crashed head-on with a 2025 Volkswagen Jetta, causing the smaller vehicle to burst into flames.

Volkswagen driver Susan Marie Komanetsky, 63, of Arlington died in the crash, according to authorities. The truck driver was not injured.

Authorities have not released any additional information about the Crane County crash at this time. The crash is still under investigation.

Commentary by Attorney Michael Grossman

When a semi-truck suffers a tire blowout and veers into oncoming traffic, the central legal issue is whether the blowout could have been prevented, and whether the trucking company did everything it was supposed to do to keep that truck safe to operate. According to reports, a northbound Freightliner Cascadia crossed into the wrong lane on F.M. 1053 and collided head-on with a Volkswagen Jetta, killing its driver and causing the car to catch fire. That kind of outcome is a signal that something may have gone wrong long before the crash.

Tire blowouts are one of the leading mechanical failures behind serious truck crashes. When they happen, especially on a steer axle, the driver can lose control quickly. But a tire doesn’t typically fail without warning. In many cases, blowouts are the result of worn tread, improper inflation, overloading or neglect of basic maintenance routines. That’s why the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations require regular inspections and detailed maintenance logs. The truck’s tires — and who maintained them, who inspected them and who approved the vehicle for the road — are now central to determining fault.

The investigation will need to examine the tire itself through forensic analysis. Was it aged, underinflated or mismatched? Was there evidence of a road hazard, or was it simply past its usable lifespan? If the tire was manufactured with a defect, that may point toward the supplier. But if the blowout was caused by preventable neglect, then responsibility may lie squarely with the trucking company and its maintenance practices.

Beyond the tire, investigators should also analyze the truck’s engine control module to determine speed, throttle input and braking behavior after the blowout. That data can help establish how the driver responded and whether the vehicle was being operated in a safe and controlled manner before the failure occurred.

While tire failures can cause a driver to lose control, the law still holds commercial operators to a high standard. Trucking companies are responsible not just for putting safe vehicles on the road, but for anticipating the risks that come with hauling tens of thousands of pounds at highway speed. When something as basic and essential as tire integrity isn’t managed properly, the results are often irreversible.

The death of the driver in the Volkswagen, and the severity of the crash, demands more than just a technical explanation. It calls for a full accounting of what could have been done to prevent a blowout from ever happening in the first place. Because no one should lose their life due to a mechanical failure that could have been avoided with routine care and attention. And when that failure comes from a vehicle as large and dangerous as a semi-truck, the law is right to demand answers.