1 Killed in Truck Accident on Interstate 20 near Terrell, TX

Kaufman County, TX — October 1, 2025, one person was killed in a truck accident at about 9:20 p.m. on eastbound Interstate 20 east of Terrell.

Authorities said a semi-truck was involved in a crash with another vehicle near mile marker 509.

One person died in the crash, which shut down traffic until about 2 a.m., but authorities have not released any additional information about the Kaufman County crash at this time.

The accident is still under investigation.

Commentary by Attorney Michael Grossman

When people hear that a person was killed in a crash involving a semi-truck, the first question they often ask is the most basic one: How did this happen? Unfortunately, based on the limited information currently available from Kaufman County, we don’t yet have that answer.

Authorities confirmed that a semi-truck and another vehicle were involved in a fatal crash on eastbound I-20 near mile marker 509. But they haven’t said anything about the cause of the crash, what led up to it or even which vehicle the deceased person was in. That leaves a lot of unanswered questions, and when it comes to deadly crashes involving 18-wheelers, unanswered questions tend to mask missed opportunities for accountability.

Depending on whether the truck was moving, stopped, or even legally parked on the shoulder, completely different legal issues come into play. Was the truck changing lanes? Did the other vehicle rear-end it? Did one of the drivers lose control? We simply don’t know, and until we do, it’s premature to place blame on either party.

But I can say this: getting to the bottom of what happened will require more than a police report. Real answers come from a full investigation that includes black box data (the truck’s engine control module), dash camera footage and cell phone records. That’s how we find out if the truck driver was distracted, speeding or braking suddenly. It’s also how we determine whether the trucking company itself may have played a role by hiring an unqualified driver, cutting corners on training or pushing unrealistic schedules that lead to fatigue behind the wheel.

In one case I handled, we discovered that a driver involved in a serious crash had been fired from multiple prior jobs, yet was still cleared to get behind the wheel by a company that barely tested his ability to drive. That didn’t come out in the initial police report. It came out because we went digging. And that kind of digging is often the only way to make sure the right people are held responsible.

Key Takeaways:

• We don’t yet know what caused the fatal crash near mile marker 509, which leaves serious questions unanswered.
• It’s unclear which vehicle the victim was in or how the collision unfolded, whether it was a rear-end crash, a lane change gone wrong or something else entirely.
• Getting to the truth will require more than surface-level reporting. It demands access to ECM data, dash cams and phone records.
• Trucking companies can bear responsibility if their policies or hiring decisions contribute to unsafe conditions on the road.
• Real accountability depends on investigating all possible sources of fault; not just the driver’s actions, but the systems behind them.