Jason Rodriguez Injured in 18-Wheeler Accident on Stemmons Fwy in Dallas, TX
Dallas, TX -- December 29, 2021, 24-year-old Jason Rodriguez was injured in a collision with a tractor-trailer on Stemmons Freeway in Dallas County.
Authorities say the incident happened around 9:10 a.m. on Stemmons Fwy (I-35E) near Lyndon B. Johnson Freeway (I-635). Preliminary investigation suggests a Volvo semi-truck was towing a trailer north on the interstate in the right travel lane as Rodriguez was driving a GMC Sierra pickup truck with a trailer in the center lane.
Reports indicate the Volvo lost control and skidded, hitting the guardrail on the right side of the freeway. The driver then over-corrected left and the truck jackknifed back through the travel lanes. The Sierra pickup approached and crashed into the left side of the semi-trailer, becoming lodged underneath. The Volvo continued its jackknife skid, dragging the pickup under its trailer until it came to rest with its cab on the left shoulder of the road.
Rodriguez reportedly suffered minor injuries in the crash. Four passengers in the GMC were unhurt. The Volvo driver received possible injuries.
No further information is currently available.
Commentary on Jason Rodriguez Accident on Stemmons Fwy in Dallas
Not every detail is accounted for in preliminary reports, but as they describe things it sounds like the truck driver lost control and caused this crash. Of course there's no guarantee he or his employer will feel the same, and they may instead try to blame something else. The best way to make sure they can't dodge their responsibilities to the victim is to conduct a careful investigation and find the facts that take away their "wiggle room."
Some may not see the need for such careful investigation since reports say the injuries inflicted were minor. I certainly hope that's true, but it concerns me when preliminary reports downplay any damages received in such wrecks. With respect to law enforcement, traffic investigators don't always properly gauge the damage they see before them. In a recent case where a client was rear-ended by a big rig, for example, our client's first diagnosis of a "sore back" turned out to actually be a ruptured spinal disk that needed major surgery and a prolonged legal battle with the trucking firm responsible for his suffering.
Hopefully nothing like that will happen after the Dallas crash, but it's usually best to treat any commercial truck accident as though the company will push back rather than try to make things right. To make sure they aren't able to escape liability or put things off so long that important evidence disappears, it's best to take any such wreck seriously and collect all the proof possible that the truck and driver are to blame. At worst the victim is overprepared and never has to take action, and that's still much better than the opposite.
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