Irene Onwukwe, Josephine Monyei Killed in Truck Accident in Anne Arundel County, MD
Anne Arundel County, MD -- March 12, 2023, Irene Onwukwe and Josephine Monyei were killed after a commercial truck accident.
Preliminary details said that the accident happened at around 12:15 a.m. along Crain Highway in the area of Route 32.
In initial reports, officials said that 54-year-old Irene Nkechi Onwukwe and 85-year-old Josephine Monyei were in a Honda that was going southbound on Crain Highway. For reasons unclear, a tow truck also going southbound rear-ended their vehicle, sending both vehicles off-road.
Due to the collision, both Onwukwe and Monyei sustained fatal injuries. Another occupant in their vehicle was taken from the scene with injuries said to be serious. Right now, the cause of the crash is still under investigation.
To be rather blunt, there are few scenarios in which a truck rear-ends someone on the highway without the driver doing something wrong. Most people already know the more common factors in crashed like this, such as speeding and distracted driving.
With that said, there's a lot the public still doesn't know about this awful event, and it's important not to jump to conclusions without clear evidence. For all we know, the victims' vehicle was disabled without any lights in the roadway, or there were other circumstances the truck driver couldn't reasonably avoid. Unlikely as that may be, I've seen it before, and it would be irresponsible to make such hasty assumptions.
But whether this was a typical case of reckless driving or something out of the ordinary that couldn't be avoided, the simple fact there is likely to be a company doing everything in its power to avoid responsibility for what happened to the victims is reason enough to ensure there are no stones left unturned. After all, there are people out there going through hardship that I've seen families go through hundreds of times throughout my career, yet I can't begin to put that kind of pain into words. I can, however, attest to just how crucial it is for them simply to have clear answers about what happened. They deserve to know what went wrong, how it could have been avoided, and—if appropriate—that there will be consequences for their actions.
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