Morgan County, WV — April 26, 2025, One person was skilled following an 18-wheeler accident that occurred around 4:00 A.M. on US-522.

An investigation is underway into a 18-wheeler accident that left one person dead during the morning hours of April 26th. According to official reports, an 18-wheeler was traveling on US-522 in the southbound lanes near Fish Hatchery Road when for unknown reasons the truck lost control and left the roadway and struck a tree.

When first responders arrived on the scene, they found that the driver had sustained fatal injuries and they were pronounced deceased. At this time there has been no further information released about the accident, including the identity of the driver or what caused the truck to lose control, however this remains an ongoing investigation and more details may be released by authorities in the future.

Commentary by Attorney Michael Grossman

When I read about an 18-wheeler leaving the road and striking a tree, my first thought is that there are more questions than answers. It's natural for people to assume the driver simply made a mistake, but from my experience, the real causes behind a crash like this are often more complicated.

The first thing a thorough investigation should look at is whether there was a mechanical failure that led to the crash. Brake failures, steering issues, and tire blowouts are all common causes of commercial vehicle crashes, and none of them can be ruled out just by examining the crash scene alone. Investigators will need to recover and examine black box data from the truck to see what was happening in the seconds leading up to the crash.

Another important area to investigate is the driver’s condition at the time of the crash. Fatigue, distraction, or sudden medical emergencies can cause a driver to lose control of a vehicle, especially one as large and heavy as an 18-wheeler. Checking cell phone records, hours of service logs, and medical history could provide crucial clues that would otherwise be missed if investigators only focus on the crash site itself.

It’s also critical to consider whether the trucking company's maintenance and driver training practices contributed to the crash. A company’s failure to properly maintain its vehicles or ensure its drivers are well-rested and properly trained can be just as responsible for a crash as anything that happens behind the wheel.

In my experience, crashes involving 18-wheelers often involve failures that go back weeks, months, or even years before the day of the crash. That's why a true investigation has to go beyond the obvious and dig into the background. Only by doing so can investigators make sure the right people are held accountable — not just the person behind the wheel, but anyone else whose decisions put that driver in a dangerous situation.