Juan Garcia Injured in Crash with Dump Truck on Hospital Rd in Starr County, TX
Starr County, TX -- January 3, 2022, 28-year-old Juan Daniel Garcia was injured in a crash with a commercial truck on Hospital Road in Starr County.
Authorities say the incident happened around 3:25 p.m. on Hospital Road (FM 3167) near mile marker 703. Preliminary investigation suggests Garcia was driving a Dodge Ram 1500 pickup truck northwest on the roadway in the right lane. Nearby, a Mack dump truck loaded with dirt was stopped on the west shoulder of the road.
Reports indicate the dump truck driver turned from the shoulder into the road, entering the path of the Dodge pickup. The Dodge crashed into the front passenger side of the dump truck, then spun away and stopped on the east grass shoulder.
Garcia suffered serious injuries in the collision. The dump truck driver reportedly received possible injuries.
Police cited the dump truck driver for turning when unsafe.
No further information is available at this time.
Commentary on Juan Garcia Accident on Hospital Rd in Starr County
If reports are accurate it seems the dump truck driver failed to yield to the victim's vehicle while turning onto the roadway. Some may think that makes the matter fairly open-and-shut, but I caution against taking that for granted or "closing the book" before the whole story is known--and proven--through objective facts.
Even if reports currently suggest the truck driver was to blame, the victim may have significant difficulties getting them or their employer to accept responsibility for what happened and the injuries that followed. The unfortunate truth is that most trucking companies will only admit fault if they run out of ways to deflect or avoid it. Some of the tactics they use when trying to escape responsibility can take an unprepared victim by surprise.
Not long ago I worked on a crash similar in some respects to the one in Starr County. In that situation an 18-wheeler pulled out of a parking lot directly into a car's path, causing a fatal collision. Police reports said the truck driver was at fault and the victim's family assumed that was enough for the trucking company to do the right thing. When they approached the firm about it, though, they were shocked as it told them the victim himself was actually to blame. The company claimed the victim was speeding and not wearing a seat belt, the combination of which was more directly responsible for his injuries than their employee's failure to yield. That was cold-blooded, of course, but it the family had to prove it was also untrue. They reached out to us for help with that.
Our independent accident reconstructionists analyzed numerous sources of data from the crash and determined conclusively that the victim wasn't speeding. We also spoke with the ambulance crews that worked to save his life and all of them agreed they had to cut through his fastened seat belt before they could get him out of the car. With all that evidence in hand we refuted the trucking company's arguments that the victim was to blame and it finally agreed to help the victim's family. That kind of battle is common after truck accidents, but it never ceases to amaze me how far some of those companies will go to avoid doing the right thing.
The crash in Starr County and the other one I described obviously aren't identical, but after virtually every commercial vehicle wreck victims must be ready for trucking company and insurance defense tactics. They'll fight like hell to protect themselves and preliminary reports from news sources or even police, no matter how clear they may seem, typically aren't enough to get a proper resolution. Will appropriate steps be taken here to ensure the victim gets the help he deserves?
[jump]
