1 Injured in Truck Accident on I-20 near Big Spring, TX

Howard County, TX — September 10, 2025, one person was injured in a multi-truck accident at about 4:40 p.m. on eastbound Interstate 20.

A preliminary accident report indicates that an eastbound 1993 Freightliner semi-truck with slick or defective tires rear-ended a 2019 Kenworth semi-truck before crashing into a parked 2018 Peterbilt semi-truck. A parked 2019 International semi-truck was struck as well.

The driver of the Kenworth, a 59-year-old man, was seriously injured in the crash near the picnic area west of Big Spring, according to the report. His name has not been made public yet.

None of the other drivers were hurt in the crash, the report states.

Authorities have not released any additional information about the Howard County crash at this time.

Commentary by Attorney Michael Grossman

When people hear about a multi-truck pileup involving a semi with defective tires, a few immediate questions come to mind: How does a vehicle that size end up on the road in poor condition? Who let it happen? And could this crash have been avoided if someone had done their job?

In this case, reports say that a 1993 Freightliner rear-ended another semi before crashing into at least two parked 18-wheelers on Interstate 20. That sequence raises serious concerns, especially with the mention of “slick or defective tires.” If that detail holds up, it suggests this truck may not have belonged on the road at all.

But we can’t stop at the tires. The bigger issue is how a truck with a known safety risk got into that position in the first place. That means looking beyond the crash scene and into the systems that are supposed to catch these problems before they turn into disasters.

Questions that Need Answers

• Were the tires actually defective? And if so, how long had they been in that condition? Fleet maintenance records should show when the tires were last inspected or replaced.
• What was the driver doing in the moments before impact? Cell phone records and dash cam footage, if available, could offer critical insight.
• Was the driver properly trained? Older trucks like a 1993 Freightliner don’t come equipped with modern safety tech, which means the driver’s skill and the company’s oversight are even more important.
• Why were two semis parked near a picnic area on the side of a major interstate? That’s not necessarily improper, but depending on their positioning, it may have increased the risk or severity of the crash.

From my experience, when a commercial truck slams into stopped traffic or parked vehicles, there’s usually more than one layer of failure involved. That might include bad maintenance practices, questionable hiring decisions or poor oversight from the trucking company. In fact, I’ve handled cases where drivers with a long history of safety violations were still put behind the wheel, because the company either didn’t check or didn’t care.

The early report mentions that only one person, the driver of the Kenworth, was seriously injured. That doesn’t make this incident less serious. It makes it more urgent to understand why this happened, because next time it could be much worse.

Key Takeaways

• A truck with defective or slick tires should never be on the road. Someone needs to explain how it got there.
• Investigators need to look at maintenance logs, engine control module (black box) data, dash cams and cell phone records to get the full picture.
• Trucking companies have a duty to inspect equipment, train drivers and prevent unfit vehicles from operating.
• The positioning of parked trucks on the roadside also deserves scrutiny in a chain-reaction crash like this.
• Real accountability starts with a thorough investigation that goes beyond the surface-level police report.