Los Angeles, CA — January 31, 2025, one person was injured in a truck accident at about 4 a.m. on Sherman Way in North Hollywood.
Authorities were dispatched to the crash site, where they found a car lodged under a semi-truck.
The driver of the car, whose name has not been released at this time, was hospitalized with unspecified injuries, according to authorities.
The truck driver was not injured.
Authorities have not released any additional information about the crash at time point. The accident is still being investigated.
Commentary by Attorney Michael Grossman
When I read that a car ended up lodged under a semi-truck, my first thought is that underride protection — or the lack of it — needs to be examined. People may assume that the car driver was at fault, but the real issue is whether the crash had to be this severe in the first place.
Underride crashes happen when a smaller vehicle slides underneath a truck’s trailer or cab, often shearing off the top of the car. Federal law requires trailers to have rear underride guards to help prevent these types of crashes, but side underride protection is not mandatory, even though it could save lives. Without proper guards, a collision that should have been survivable can easily become deadly.
Of course, it’s also important to ask how this collision happened in the first place. Was the truck stopped or moving? Was it making a turn or crossing traffic? Did the car driver fail to see the truck in time, or did the truck driver take an action that made a crash more likely? Without more information, we can’t say for sure.
The key takeaway here is that underride protection and crashworthiness matter. While investigators will likely focus on the moments leading up to the crash, they also need to consider whether better safety features on the truck could have reduced the severity of the injuries. If those factors aren’t examined, they’re missing an important part of the story.
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