Kenwin C. Printup Killed in Log Truck Accident near Huntsville, AL
Huntsville, AL -- December 16, 2022, Kenwin C. Printup was killed due to an accident where his semi crashed with a log truck.
Investigators said that the accident happened at around 1:50 p.m. in the area of US 72 and Parton Drive, just east of town. Right now, the exact cause of the crash is unclear.
Officials said only that 50-year-old Kenwin C. Printup was in a tractor-trailer traveling along the highway when it somehow hit the cargo of a log truck. Due to the collision, Printup sustained fatal injuries. Right now, additional details are unavailable.
Commentary on Kenwin Printup Log Truck Accident near Huntsville
There are all kinds of things that could have happened here. When people read that someone "hit" someone else, they often take that to mean they did something wrong unless that other driver did something obvious like failing to yield. But things are rarely that simple.
For example, when I look into log truck wrecks, a vital piece of information is going to be how the logs were loaded and to what degree that contributed to the wreck. Logs can often be hanging precariously off the back of a trailer, and failing to ensure drivers can tell that's the case can have deadly consequences. The same is true with just about any kind of bulky cargo.
Not long ago, for example, a family came to me after their loved one "hit" a large slab of metal on a flatbed trailer. What initial reports failed to mention, however, was that the metal was far too large for the trailer being used, the red flag on it was so worn and faded that it was practically invisible, and the load was hanging out perpendicular to traffic because the truck stopped at a crossover while making a left turn.
I'm not saying any of that happened here. I'm saying that what we see in preliminary reports is rarely the full story. With something as potentially deadly as large cargo on a trailer, steps must always be taken to ensure the victims and families know they're getting the whole picture. Doing so here could show that this tragedy was entirely avoidable.
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