One Killed in Crash with Dump Truck on FM 1314 in Porter, TX
Porter, TX — June 18, 2022, an 80-year-old man was fatally injured when his pickup collided with a dump truck on FM 1314 in Porter.
According to reports the incident happened around 10:45 a.m. by an auto repair business along FM 1314 near Andrew Lane. Preliminary investigation suggests the victim was leaving the business and failed to yield to the dump truck while pulling onto FM 1314. The dump truck broadsided his Ford F-150 pickup and pushed him into a bar ditch.
The Ford driver was pronounced dead at the scene.
Reports say investigators found several legal violations on the dump truck, including its driver not having a CDL.
No further information is currently available.
Commentary on Truck Accident on FM 1314 in Porter
People may look at the reported circumstances of this crash and say that, while tragic, the responsibility seems to fall to the party who failed to yield. I won't argue that it could have been a contributing factor, but the same reports mention troubling issues with the dump truck that hit him--not least of which is the driver being unlicensed to operate it. If that's true, things may be a little more complicated than who entered whose path on FM 1314.
Simply put, an employer must make sure its employees can do the job they signed on for. That means they have the training, experience, and licensure necessary to operate the trucks they're hired to drive. I won't say the company should have known their driver might smash into a pickup that pulled into his way, but it seems to me they should at least have known he didn't have legal permission to operate their truck. Moreover, depending on the mentioned "violations" investigators found on the truck, they also should have known something was wrong with it and taken it out of service until the repairs were done.
Accidents are often due to combinations of factors. If any of those factors in Porter were an unlicensed driver, a dicey truck, or the company that put both of them on the road, then it seems only fair to the victim's loved ones that everyone involved in their loss is held accountable.
