Amber Jowers Injured in Truck Accident on US-77 in Kenedy County, TX
Kenedy County, TX — June 3, 2022, 33-year-old Amber Jowers and her five young passengers were injured in a crash on U.S. Highway 77 in Kenedy County.
According to reports the incident happened around 1:20 p.m. on US-77 near Turcotte Road. Preliminary investigation suggests a Peterbilt semi-truck was towing a trailer north on the highway behind a Freightliner tractor-trailer, which in turn was behind Jowers' Honda CR-V.
Reports say the vehicles ahead of the Peterbilt slowed in response a checkpoint ahead and the Peterbilt driver took faulty evasive action, crashing into the back of the Freightliner's trailer. The impact pushed the Freightliner into the back of the Honda, which in turn was pushed into another vehicle ahead of it.
Jowers and five passengers in the Honda ages 18, 17, 16, 11, and 11 were all transported to an area hospital for treatment of minor injuries. Both truck drivers were unhurt. The vehicle rear-ended by the Honda fled the scene.
No further information is currently available.
Commentary on Amber Jowers Accident in Kenedy County
It's a relief to read that the only injuries here were reportedly minor, but that's still no reason to write the collision off or fail to investigate it properly. For one thing, "minor" injuries aren't always as benign as they first seem, and for another even minor injuries can affect children differently than they do adults. That's why it's important to be prepared in case things take a nasty turn.
Here's an example of what I mean: A while back a client of mine was involved in a crash with a commercial truck. Doctors told him at first that he was lucky to have just a sore back. They sent him home with instructions to use a heating pad and stay off his feet, and to take basic ibuprofen for the pain. He did all three, but not long after he returned home that soreness became agony.
Further tests and scans at the ER showed the crash actually ruptured a disk in the victim's spine. That "sore back" ultimately needed surgery and months of recovery, not to mention a lengthy battle with the insurance company before they agreed to help him.
Similar issues arose in another case where doctors thought a juvenile just sprained his arm during a crash. No action was taken, only for it to become apparently down the line that the arm had broken and then knitted back improperly as it healed. Injuries an adult might shrug off or heal from normally may affect children differently as their bodies grow and chance, which is why even "minor" injuries dealt to kids need careful attention.
I don't mean to predict doom and gloom after the Kenedy County wreck. There's no specific reason to think things are worse than preliminary reports said, and thanks to improvements in safety features many people really do escape wrecks mostly unharmed. However, taking swift action to find the facts and gather evidence means they'll be prepared if things aren't quite how they seem at first. "Better safe than sorry," as they say, and truck accidents are no exception.
