Michael Gray Killed in 18-Wheeler Accident on Highway 21 near Bryan, TX
Bryan, TX — January 10, 2023, 21-year-old Michael Gray was killed when an 18-wheeler crashed into a work convoy on State Highway 21 near Bryan.
Authorities say the incident happened Tuesday night along Highway 21 between Farm to Market 50 and OSR. Preliminary investigation suggests three semi-trucks and a Ford pickup with a trailer, all part of a work convoy, were headed east as they performed construction and maintenance on the highway. For reasons not yet understood, a Peterbilt 18-wheeler approached the convoy and crashed into all of its trucks.
Gray was seated on the trailer being towed by the Ford and suffered fatal injuries in the wreck. The Ford driver and two other truck drivers from the convoy were transported to a Bryan hospital. The remaining convoy driver and the Peterbilt driver were treated at the scene.
The investigation is ongoing. No further information is currently available.
There's still a lot of work to do figuring out exactly what happened near Bryan, but typically when an 18-wheeler crashes into other vehicles--particularly slow-moving ones like a work convoy--it's because the driver screwed up. Long experience has shown me that the majority of such crashes involve speeding, following too closely, poorly-maintained vehicles, driver distraction, or some combination of those--most of which are a matter of the truck's operator not doing their job properly. It's still important to investigate carefully in case something unusual happened, but the statistics are pretty clear.
That doesn't make this matter open-and-shut, however, and I caution against thinking just about any accident is really as straightforward as it may sound in preliminary reports. That's especially true of commercial truck accidents, as trucking companies and their insurers fight tooth and nail against any suggestion of fault afterward. For the sake of bringing the victim's loved ones some badly-needed answers and to make sure they're ready for any hurdles they might face in holding someone accountable for their loss, it's critical to get all the clear facts and evidence showing what happened. Click below to read more.
