Just before 2pm on Wednesday, June 18th, a major crash involving a semi-truck resulted in one person significantly injured at an intersection 2 miles east of Cameron in Caldwell County, Missouri.
As a 2015 freightliner was traveling southbound on Sale Barn Road, the 73-year-old driver of the truck slowed for a vehicle ahead decelerating to turn onto Barwick Drive. Once that vehicle cleared the intersection, the massive truck continued through the crossing, and crashed into a 2006 Kia. The Kia was traveling westbound on Barwick Drive.
The freightliner T-boned the Kia on its passenger side, causing it to spin in the road. While the semi came to a controlled halt, the Kia came to a final rest (after spinning) on the side of the road, facing east. The Kia was extensively damaged and had to be towed. Its 24-year-old driver was seriously injured and transported to a local hospital. The freightliner suffered minor damage, and the driver was reported to be uninjured.
A 2023 study revolving around truck safety and information was done, and it concluded that about 22% of accidents involving semi-trucks resulted in significant injuries. Of those 22% of crashes, a staggering 70% were injuries sustained by occupants of another vehicle involved in the crash. Given their size and weight, freightliners pose a significant risk in collisions, especially to occupants of smaller vehicles. Freightliners are massive trucks with little risk for injury in a non-tipping accident like this, whereas the other driver had a much higher chance for injury—and as a commercial driver this should be an important thing to keep in mind.
Collisions like this are a reminder of just how large and heavy semi-trucks are, and the level of responsibility the drivers of the trucks have. Federal and state laws exist to regulate commercial driver safety, but those laws also protect drivers of everyday vehicles. This incident shows that the victims of commercial drivers’ negligence are often not the drivers themselves but other cars on the road. A moment’s misjudgment can have life-changing consequences.