Oldham County, KY -- December 14, 2021, 39-year-old Daniel Griffith was killed in a collision with a box truck along Interstate 71 in Oldham County.

Authorities say the incident happened around 11:20 a.m. along I-71 South near the Crestwood/Pewee Valley exit. Preliminary investigation suggests traffic was slowing or stopped on the roadway due to a multi-vehicle accident that occurred shortly before. As traffic stopped in the area, an International box truck approached but did not reduce speed and crashed into the back of Griffith's Nissan Rogue. The impact pushed the Nissan into the rear of a semi-truck's trailer.

Griffith suffered fatal injuries in the accident. No other injuries were reported.

No further information is currently available.

Commentary on Daniel Griffith Accident on I-71 in Oldham County

When a commercial truck crashes into stopped traffic it's usually for the same few reasons--most commonly speeding, following too closely, or driver distraction. I'm not saying any of those was necessarily involved in Kentucky, nor that they're the only possible explanations for what happened. Investigators must also consider unusual issues like mechanical problems in the at-fault truck or its driver having a medical emergency. However, in most of these situations it's ultimately found the crash should have been wholly avoidable.

Even if that's found to be true here, it doesn't mean the situation is open and shut and the blame will rest solely with the driver. Investigation may show he was at fault, but there may still be other considerations.

For example, I recently worked on a case where a truck driver caused a similar accident after falling asleep at the wheel. We learned pretty quickly that he'd been driving for 20 straight hours without so much as a rest break. That was clearly a huge mistake, and many would have considered it more than enough to assign fault and close the case. I wondered what would make that driver risk his life and career, though, so we kept digging.

We finally learned the driver's employer routinely forced him and his coworkers to meet ridiculous deadlines that often required them to cut corners and take risks. If they failed to meet the company's requirements, their hours and routes might be cut or they might even be fired. If hard-working truckers have to choose between following the rules and putting food on the table, many will bite the bullet and it's almost inevitable someone will get hurt.

I'm not saying anything like that necessarily happened in Oldham County. My point is more that handling commercial truck wrecks isn't just about finding one person to pin all the blame on. Sometimes drivers make unfortunate mistakes, but other times unusual elements beyond their control make them crash. In some cases, however, their negligence is a symptom of a larger problem at their company that could cause more accidents if nothing is done.

Not only do victims and families need every available detail to get the help they deserve, but also those details could be the difference between more people getting hurt and a negligent trucking company cleaning up its act. Long experience tells me it'd be best for seasoned professionals to look into the matter and find the whole story.

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