Andy Wayne Allen Injured in 18-wheeler Accident on RM 2469 in Irion County, TX
UPDATE (December 15, 2022): Officials identified the man injured in the crash as 38-year-old Andy Wayne Allen. Additional details about the crash itself remain unavailable.
Irion County, TX -- October 25, 2022, a San Angelo man was injured following an accident where an 18-wheeler and a pickup crashed.
Investigators were called to the intersection of RM 2469 and County Road 410 at around 7:00 a.m.
It appears that a 38-year-old San Angelo man was in a Chevy Silverado traveling westbound along the roadway in the right lane. Authorities say that an 18-wheeler used its signal for a right turn, then pulled into the eastbound lane to make a wide right. As it moved right, it crashed with the Silverado.
The San Angelo man had injuries said to be incapacitating. No other injuries were reported. At this time, no further information is available.
Commentary on Andy Wayne Allen 18-wheeler Accident in Irion County
There seems to be some implication in these reports that the truck driver was just minding their own business when someone failed to control speed and hit them. Depending on the exact circumstances, that could be true. I won't pretend to know more about this than what's already publicly known. But when I see crashes like this, investigations almost always show that the truck driver was the one in the wrong.
Wide rights are pretty risky maneuvers, even though they may sometimes be necessary. But responsible truckers I've known throughout the years will take steps to ensure they can make the maneuver as safely as possible. This can be as simple as waving for vehicles to pass until the path is absolutely clear. It could also be a responsible company sending a co-worker to get out and flag down traffic so there's ample warning of the obstruction.
All these reports say is that the truck driver put on a blinker. They don't say how close the victim was when that happened, how visible the truck's lights were, whether or not it was reasonable someone would attempt to pass the truck, or whether or not other factors made this situation less avoidable than authorities make it seem. Perhaps there needs to be a more thorough investigation to find out if authorities really put their chips in the right place. This could be that 1 time in 10 that a truck making a wide right did nothing wrong, but it'd be silly to ignore the probability of those other 9 likelihoods.
[jump]
