Jacob Keith Bingham Killed in 18-wheeler Accident in Big Spring, TX
Howard County, TX -- November 18, 2021, Jacob Keith Bingham was killed following an accident where Bingham's vehicle crashed with an 18-wheeler.
Authorities reported that the crash took place at around 2:27 p.m. along the I-20 service road at exit 181B.
Investigators said that 32-year-old Jacob Keith Bungham as in a Toyota Camry traveling westbound along the I-20 service road. At the exit ramp, officials said that Bingham failed to yield to an eastbound 18-wheeler coming off the ramp, resulting in a collision.
Bingham sustained fatal injuries as a result of the crash. Right now, additional details are unavailable.
Commentary on Jacob Keith Bingham 18-wheeler Accident in Howard County
Just to be clear up front, I would never suggest that these particular reports are inaccurate or lacking in any way without having clear evidence to do so. I don't know more about this crash than what authorities say happened, so I'm not here to speculate. However, I see a lot of situations like this where folks simply read preliminary reports and are all too comfortable taking the reports at face value and blaming the victim. Just as I don't have clear evidence to say the victim did nothing wrong here, it would be hasty to assume these reports are enough to say that they did. There's simply no telling what more thorough investigations could reveal.
Take for example a crash I looked into a while back out in West Texas. Police said that a man ran a stop sign, causing a truck to t-bone and kill him. That's all anyone knew for a while, but a friend of the firm that worked accident reconstruction out there shared details that never made it to the public. Apparently, TxDOT had been at the intersection earlier that day doing construction. They removed the stop signs while doing so, but they forgot to put those signs back when they left for the day. So how exactly did the victim run a stop sign that wasn't even there?
The reality is that initial reports don't always tell the full story. Sometimes officers don't have the tools or training they need. Sometimes their departments pull them to other jobs before they've had ample time to do a thorough job. Sometimes the cause of a crash is so complex that it requires dedicated specialists to look into. Perhaps independent investigations here would show that nothing unusual led to this tragic event. In that situation, a family could at least rest assured they're getting the full story. Otherwise, are steps being taken to make sure nothing important slipped through the cracks here?
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