Richard Casey Killed in Crossover Crash on SR 56 in Jefferson County, KY
Jefferson County, KY — August 3, 2022, 42-year-old Richard Casey died in a head-on crash with tractor-trailer on State Road 56 in Jefferson County.
According to reports the incident happened around 9:00 a.m. on SR 56 near Kuntz Road. Preliminary investigation suggests Casey was traveling west on the roadway when he crossed over the center line for unknown reasons. After entering the oncoming lane he crashed-head on with an eastbound 18-wheeler.
Casey was pronounced dead at the scene. The truck driver was reportedly unhurt.
The crash remains under investigation. No further information is currently available.
Commentary on Richard Casey Accident in Jefferson County
Reports suggest the fatally-injured driver crossed left of center here, but I often remind people that preliminary findings are sometimes just officers' best guesses after a once-over at the scene. Many times their first impressions are right, but I've also seen plenty of cases where they missed the mark entirely.
For instance, after a similar crash recently police said the victim crossed the center line and caused the fatal wreck with a big rig. We looked again at his family's request and learned the truck actually crossed over first when the driver fell asleep. He swerved back when the truck hit the rumble strips, but that put him back on a collision course with the victim's car. Police just saw the car in the truck's lane when they arrived and figured he was to blame, and the truck driver saw no reason to set the record straight.
I'm not saying the Jefferson County trucker did anything wrong or that police will mess up the facts, but even if they're certain the victim crossed over first there's still the question of why. Some may decide he did something wrong, but it's never wise to jump to hasty conclusions when there could be other explanations. Did he have a medical emergency? Did his car blow a tire or malfunction somehow? Was the road wet or in poor condition in that area? Did another vehicle force the victim to go off-course? Even less-common possibilities like those can't be overlooked.
The point here is that things are rarely as clear as a few sentences in the news makes them seem. That's why I often suggest that independent experts take a second look and make sure nothing crucial was missed. At the very least, the victim's family deserves to know every effort was made to learn the whole story. Any other steps beyond that would depend on what the story turns out to be.
