Jefferson County, MO — April 1, 2025, one person was killed in a truck accident at about 7 a.m. on Old Highway 21 west of Arnold.
Authorities said a dump truck and a silver sedan collided near Lions Den Road.
The driver of the sedan, whose name has not been made public at this time, died in the crash, according to authorities. The dump truck driver suffered minor injuries.
Authorities have not released any additional information about the Jefferson County crash. The accident is still under investigation.
Commentary by Attorney Michael Grossman
When a passenger vehicle and a dump truck collide and someone loses their life, it’s easy to jump to conclusions based on the type of vehicles involved. But from a legal standpoint, the real question is much simpler: Who had the right of way, and did either driver make a mistake that caused the crash?
At 7 a.m. on a two-lane road like Old Highway 21, visibility and traffic volume are both major factors. If one vehicle crossed the center line, turned improperly or misjudged the speed of oncoming traffic, that could be all it takes to cause a deadly crash. But right now, we don’t know which direction either vehicle was traveling or what kind of maneuver was taking place before the impact. That’s why an investigation like this can’t rely on assumptions: it has to be built on evidence.
In these kinds of cases, investigators should start with basic physical evidence: skid marks, point of impact, vehicle damage and any debris field. Those details help reconstruct the crash. But they also need to go further: into cell phone records, traffic camera footage (if any) and any dashcams in either vehicle. For the dump truck, in particular, its engine control module should be downloaded to determine how fast it was going, whether the brakes were applied and how the truck was being operated in the seconds leading up to the crash.
Dump trucks, like all commercial vehicles, are held to a higher standard. That includes making safe turns, controlling speed and being aware of blind spots. If the truck was overloaded or not properly maintained, those issues could have contributed to the crash too, and that would be on the company that owns and operates it.
The timing of the crash also raises the possibility of morning glare or low sun angles impacting visibility. That doesn’t excuse unsafe driving, but it’s a factor that investigators should consider when reviewing whether either driver could have reasonably seen the other in time to avoid the collision.
The bottom line is this: just because one driver walked away and the other didn’t doesn’t automatically mean fault lies with the smaller vehicle. What matters is who had the opportunity — and the responsibility — to avoid the crash. And that can only be answered with a full, detailed investigation that goes beyond what’s obvious at the scene.
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