Bettendorf, IA — October 24, 2025, one person was killed and two were injured in a truck accident just before 8:30 a.m. along State Street (U.S. 67).
According to authorities, three people—a 43-year-old woman, a 41-year-old man, and a nine-year-old child—were traveling in a passenger vehicle on State Street in the vicinity of Pigeon Creek when the accident took place.
Visibility conditions in the area at the time were apparently very low due to fog. Officials indicate that, for reasons yet to be confirmed, the passenger vehicle collided with an 18-wheeler as the semi was attempting to enter the highway from a business lot.
The woman reportedly suffered fatal injuries as a result of the wreck and was declared deceased at the scene. The child sustained critical injuries and was flown to an area medical facility in order to receive immediate treatment. The man was also hurt; he was taken to a local medical facility by ground ambulance for care.
Additional details pertaining to this incident—including the identities of the victims—are not available at this point in time. The investigation is currently ongoing.
Commentary by Attorney Michael Grossman
When an 18-wheeler pulls out of a private lot and a passing vehicle slams into its side, the question isn’t just who had the right-of-way—it’s whether the truck driver could reasonably see that it was safe to enter the road. That question becomes even more critical when, as reported here, visibility was severely limited by fog.
Commercial drivers are trained to anticipate low-visibility conditions and adjust accordingly. That includes delaying entry onto roadways when they can’t confirm traffic is clear. If the truck was pulling out into the path of oncoming traffic in foggy conditions, that raises serious questions about judgment and timing. It also puts the spotlight on whether the trucking company enforced policies to deal with reduced visibility—because when visibility is poor, the margin for error disappears.
One of the biggest concerns in this type of crash is whether the car had any realistic chance to avoid the collision. When a truck is crossing or entering the roadway, it can create a near-total barrier across a lane. If a smaller vehicle is traveling at highway speed, and the fog hides the truck until the last second, a collision becomes almost inevitable. That’s why crash reconstruction using scene photos, skid marks, ECM data, and dash cam footage is essential to determine how much time and space each driver had to react.
It’s also worth investigating the angle and location of the lot entrance. Was the truck turning across multiple lanes? Was it trying to beat traffic gaps in poor visibility? If so, the legal responsibility may not end with the driver. The company that dispatched the truck—or even the property owner, if the lot design creates dangerous entry conditions—may also be part of the liability picture.
Having handled similar cases, I’ve seen how quickly low-visibility crashes get chalked up to “bad weather.” But weather isn’t an excuse—it’s a condition that calls for greater caution, not less. When that caution isn’t exercised, the consequences can be devastating.
Key Takeaways:
- The truck driver’s decision to enter the highway in low-visibility fog raises serious legal and safety concerns.
- Crash reconstruction and ECM data will be key to understanding how much time each driver had to react.
- If the truck blocked the lane in fog, the car may have had no chance to avoid the crash.
- The company’s training and dispatch policies—and the design of the lot entrance—should also be scrutinized.
- Fog doesn’t eliminate responsibility; it increases the need for careful, well-timed decisions.
