John Schroeder Injured in Semi-Truck Accident on US 287 in Clay County, TX
UPDATE (March 21, 2023): Recent information suggests officers recommended a citation for failure to yield, but further details remain unclear.
UPDATE (March 3, 2023): Recent statements from DPS officials say the pickup driver injured in the crash was John Schroeder from Bellevue. They still have not said if charges or citations are being considered.
Clay County, TX -- February 28, 2023, one person was injured after an accident where a semi-truck reportedly failed to yield.
Investigators said that the incident happened at around 7:00 a.m. along US 287 near the intersection of Hapgood Road.
It appears that a driver was in a Ford pickup going along northbound lanes of the highway. While doing so, authorities say a semi-truck failed to yield coming out of a brick plant. Doing so, it crashed with the pickup.
Due to the collision, the driver of the pickup sustained serious injuries. No further injuries were mentioned, and it's unclear at this time if police are filing charges or citations. Frankly, it would be surprising to me if they didn't.
Police saying a commercial truck driver failed to yield is always infuriating. It's just about the most simple thing any driver can do, and truck drivers are held to a high standard due to their supposed training and experience. I talk to responsible truckers all the time, and they have just about as many stories as I do of truckers that give the profession a bad reputation. That's why they, too, know how important thorough investigations are in making sure those drivers either clean up their act or get taken off the road ASAP before more people get hurt. Is that going to be necessary here, as well?
I can't say for certain what happened here without seeing more evidence, of course, but it goes without saying these initial reports are concerning, to say the least. For the sake of those involved and for the general public, steps should be taken to find out what happened here and if there's a risk of something similar happening in the future. That's especially true if the driver involved is either an employee or regular visitor of this apparent nearby brick plant. Have there been issues with this company or their customers in the past? Are there perhaps employees at the plant that have noticed drivers doing drop offs or pickups that were just accidents waiting to happen? If so, it may be crucial for them to offer insight into what may have happened here.
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