Update (July 3, 2025): Authorities have identified the person who was killed in this accident as 53-year-old Vicksburg resident Tatyana Zavalova.
Clinton, MS — July 2, 2025, one person was killed in an early morning truck accident on westbound Interstate 20 near Springridge Road.
Authorities said a car and a semi-truck collided near Exit 36.
The driver of the car died in the crash, according to authorities. The driver’s name has not been made public yet.
Authorities have not released any additional information about the Hinds County crash at this time. The accident is still being investigated.
Commentary by Attorney Michael Grossman
When someone reads about a crash like this, where a car and an 18-wheeler collide on the highway and the car’s driver loses their life, the first thing they want to know is: How did this happen? And maybe more to the point: Could it have been prevented?
Right now, we don’t have answers to those questions. We know a car and a semi-truck collided early in the morning on westbound I-20 near Exit 36, and that the person in the car didn’t survive. But there’s no word yet on who hit whom or whether either party made a driving error, or suffered a mechanical failure, that caused the collision.
Depending on whether the truck was stopped or moving, different questions arise. If the truck merged into the car’s lane, we’d want to look at the truck driver’s actions leading up to the crash. Was he distracted by a cell phone? Fatigued? Driving too fast? If the car struck the truck, then the questions shift: was the truck stopped in a travel lane? Was it visible? Did its lights and reflectors work properly?
The truth is, these answers don’t come from press releases. They come from a thorough investigation into physical evidence, driver history and onboard technology. Most modern semis are equipped with an engine control module (or “black box”) that can tell us the truck’s speed, braking and steering inputs just before the crash. In-cab cameras, if present, might show whether the driver was alert or distracted. And cell phone records can confirm or rule out whether a driver was texting or talking at the time.
Sometimes, the deeper issue isn’t what the driver did but whether they should have been driving at all. I’ve handled cases where a driver had been fired from multiple jobs and still got hired by a company that didn’t bother with proper background checks. Or where a trucker had barely any road evaluation but was sent out to drive cross-country. These aren’t far-fetched scenarios; they happen more often than most people think.
Until we know more, it’s too soon to draw conclusions about blame. But it’s not too soon to say that the answers should come from evidence, not assumptions.
Key Takeaways:
- It’s not yet clear how the collision between the car and the semi-truck occurred.
- Evidence like ECM data, in-cab cameras and cell phone records will be key to finding out what happened.
- Investigations must consider not just driver behavior, but also company hiring and oversight practices.
- Thorough, independent analysis is the only way to ensure the right parties are held accountable.
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