Karen Woods Injured in Truck Accident on I-20 in Duncanville, TX
Duncanville, TX — June 23, 2022, 64-year-old Karen Woods and a truck driver were injured in a crash on Interstate 20 in Duncanville.
According to reports the incident happened around 2:25 p.m. on I-20 near Hill City Drive. Preliminary investigation suggests a Hino box truck and Woods' Nissan Pathfinder were headed east on the interstate in the right lane. Traffic ahead slowed down and Woods slowed in response, but the box truck driver behind her failed to reduce speed accordingly.
The truck driver swerved right in an unsuccessful attempt to avoid the collision and the Hino truck hit the rear-right corner of the Nissan. After the impact the truck overturned on the roadside.
Woods and the truck driver both received serious injuries in the collision.
No further information is currently available.
Commentary on Karen Woods Accident in Duncanville
If reports have their facts straight it sounds like the truck driver's failure to slow is probably the triggering element of this wreck and of both drivers' injuries. Some might think that means the trucker and his employer would have little choice but to accept responsibility and try to make things right, but commercial truck accidents are rarely that simple.
Folks who've never crashed with an 18-wheeler, lucky as they are, probably don't realize the battles that await those who do--not just the difficulties of recovery, but also holding the right parties accountable for the damage done. The default position of most trucking companies is to deny responsibility for their employees' carelessness unless they're confronted with clear and inescapable evidence of it. That means they'll hotly dispute police findings and blame any other scapegoats they can think of.
For instance, in the Duncanville crash the victim could hear the company say she cut their truck off or braked too suddenly for their driver to react. That may seem cold-blooded, but they're not shy about pointing fingers where they must to avoid the spotlight. If they don't try to blame her directly they likely still have abundant excuses about sun glare, road conditions, or sudden and mysterious truck failures to throw at the wall in hopes something will stick.
I'm not trying to say things are guaranteed to take that kind of turn if the victim seeks help, but I will say with zero exaggeration that in decades of working on truck accident cases I have encountered one (1) company that just did the right thing without a fuss. That ratio is a clear lesson that almost every commercial wreck will involve pushback from trucking companies and their insurers. Building a case around clear and convincing evidence can help victims and families overcome the obstacles put in their way. Will the necessary facts be found so the victim has what she needs to seek help and justice?
