• September 07, 2022

Wheeler County, TX — September 5, 2022, 60-year-old Steven Little died in a collision with a wrong-way 18-wheeler on Interstate 40 in Wheeler County.

According to authorities the incident happened around 6:45 a.m. on I-40 near mile marker 166, around three miles outside Shamrock. Preliminary investigation suggests 35-year-old Mohamed Abdi was driving a tractor-trailer along the roadway when he allegedly crossed through the center median for unknown reasons. The big rig then hit the driver's side of Little's Toyota Tundra. Investigators later said they found no evidence Abdi tried to stop or steer away before the impact.

Little was pronounced dead at the scene. Abdi and a passenger in the truck were taken to a Shamrock hospital for treatment of non-life-threatening injuries.

No further information is currently available.

Commentary on Steven Little Accident in Wheeler County

Some may see that the commercial truck driver allegedly crossed through the median and hit the victim and assume that's more than enough detail to place the blame squarely on his shoulders. If things went that way, how could he (and by extension his employer) argue they aren't at fault?

That may seem reasonable from the outside, but I often warn people against thinking any accident (but especially a commercial truck accident) is really as straightforward as the news suggests--or that it will be easy to resolve for anyone hurt by it. No one should take a trucking company's cooperation as a given no matter how damning the early details seem.

Frustrating as it is, trucking companies rarely accept fault without doing everything they can to avoid it first. Some may not see how that'd be possible given how this wreck allegedly occurred, but it's important not to underestimate how inventive (or heartless) trucking companies can get if they think they might escape liability and protect their assets. Click below to learn more about the steps they quickly take after their employees may have hurt someone.