Big Flats, NY — September 12, 2025, a teenage woman was injured due to a dump truck accident just before 8:45 a.m. along State Highway 352.
According to authorities, an 18-year-old woman was traveling in a westbound Chevrolet Malibu on S.H. 352 attempting a left turn to head south on Corning Road when the accident took place.
Officials indicate that, for as yet unknown reasons, the Malibu attempted the turn at an apparently unsafe time. A collision consequently occurred between the right side of the Malibu and the front-end of an eastbound dump truck with a full load.
The woman reportedly sustained injuries of unknown severity; she was taken to a local medical facility by ground ambulance before being flown to an area facility for further care. It does not appear that anyone from the dump truck was injured.
Additional details pertaining to this incident—including the identity of the victim—are not available at this point in time. The investigation is currently ongoing.
Commentary by Attorney Michael Grossman
When a passenger vehicle turns across traffic and gets hit by a loaded dump truck, most people assume it’s a simple matter of the smaller vehicle misjudging the gap. That might turn out to be true—but that assumption skips over several important questions that still need answers.
At the top of that list is this: Was the dump truck speeding, distracted, or otherwise unable to respond safely? Even if the car’s turn was ill-timed, it doesn’t automatically mean the truck had no chance to avoid the crash. Dump trucks are heavy, slow to stop, and prone to longer braking distances—especially when loaded. That makes it all the more important to verify what the truck driver was doing in the moments before impact.
Was there dash cam footage showing how fast the truck was traveling? Did the vehicle’s black box record how or when the brakes were applied? Did anyone retrieve the driver’s phone records to see if they were distracted? Without those answers, it’s premature to assume the crash was unavoidable.
It’s also worth noting that dump trucks often operate under different standards than long-haul 18-wheelers, especially when owned by local contractors or construction firms. In my experience, those companies may not have the same rigorous hiring, training, or oversight practices. I’ve handled cases where drivers were barely screened or had little instruction on how to handle heavy equipment safely around the public. That’s not to say anything like that happened here—but it is one of the possibilities a proper investigation should consider.
And finally, just because one vehicle made a risky move doesn’t mean the other had no duty to respond. I’ve worked cases where professional drivers saw a hazard developing, had time to act, and simply didn’t. Those cases hinged not on who started the chain of events, but on who failed to break it.
Key Takeaways
- It’s not yet clear whether the dump truck had time—or the ability—to avoid the turning vehicle.
- Critical data may exist from dash cams, black boxes, or phone records, and should be reviewed.
- Local dump truck operators may not follow the same safety protocols as larger commercial carriers.
- Even if one driver makes a bad decision, other drivers may still share responsibility based on how they respond.
- Full accountability depends on evidence, not assumptions.
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