Cary, NC — November 29, 2024, a 13-year-old girl was killed due to a garbage truck accident at around 10:00 a.m. along High House Road.

According to initial statements from authorities, the incident happened at the intersection of High House Road and Cornerstone Drive.

It appears that a 13-year-old girl was in a crosswalk at the time. While there, a truck allegedly driven by Adrian Holt crossed through the area, allegedly failed to yield, and somehow hit the girl in the process. As a result, the girl was seriously injured and taken to a hospital. She later died there.

Holt is reportedly facing multiple charges, including misdemeanor death by vehicle. Right now, additional details remain under investigation.

Commentary by Attorney Michael Grossman

To be clear up front, I don't know anything more about this specific accident than what's been alleged publicly by authorities. I'm certainly not here to jump to conclusions. But looking at this particular intersection, the crosswalks seem to be clearly marked, the crossing is controlled by traffic signals, and this apparently happen during daylight hours. As such, a truck driver failing to see and hitting a pedestrian raises serious red flags the driver did something wrong. But finding out what went wrong is just one piece of the puzzle. It's also important to know why something went wrong. That can involve a lot more than effort than folks may realize.

For example, I've handled hundreds of commercial vehicle accident cases throughout my career. There is no shortage of examples of truck drivers making obvious mistakes—distracted driving, speeding, driving drunk, driving while fatigued, etc. But I don't just cut off investigators there. I know it's important to know if a driver's mistakes could have been foreseen and prevented. Was the driver poorly trained and inexperienced? Were they rushing to meet unreasonable deadlines? Were they overworked by a demanding employer? Did they have a history of reckless driving their employer ignored? Have they been in serious accidents in the past?

By asking these questions, investigations can shine a light on a driver's serious mistakes and potentially root out the behavior that made those mistakes inevitable. Sometimes, evidence shows an individual driver was just being reckless. Sometimes, there were extenuating circumstances the driver couldn't avoid. And many times, there were signs an employer knew or should have known about that they failed to address, and they allowed an otherwise preventable accident to occur. So, what steps are authorities taking here to find out if this young girl's death could have been avoided?