UPDATE (January 15, 2025): In recent statements, authorities say they charged the 18-wheeler driver involved in the accident that killed Francisco Guerra. That driver now faces a charge for criminal negligent homicide. No further information is available.

Laredo, TX — December 12, 2024, Francisco Guerra was killed due to an 18-wheeler accident at around 8:00 a.m. along I-35.

According to initial details about the accident, it happened along southbound lanes of the interstate near Exit 13 off Carrier Drive.

Investigators said that 50-year-old Francisco Guerra was in a Range Rover going southbound on I-35. Guerra reportedly pulled over onto the shoulder, then got out of the vehicle. After doing so, details say a passing 18-wheeler "drifted out of its lane," hitting Guerra.

As a result of the collision, Francisco Guerra was killed. The truck driver reportedly remained at the scene and spoke with authorities. Right now, additional details are unavailable.

Commentary

If it's true that this involved an 18-wheeler drifting out of its lane, that certainly raises some red flags about what the truck driver was doing when this crash occurred. As open-and-shut as that may seem, the important question to answer is why this happened. One piece of evidence that's going to go a long way to determining why this happened is the driver's cellphone data. That may seem obvious, but even that can present unique challenges folks may not consider.

For example, it would surprise people how often police fail to pull a driver's cellphone records. Put simply, that's the driver's personal property, and it's unlikely authorities are going to get the data without compelling the driver to hand it over. That usually requires a subpoena, and authorities aren't always going to go through the steps to do all of that. In our own efforts, though, that's pretty much the first thing our investigations look to secure. Cellphones are far and away one of the most common factors in deadly truck wrecks, and it would be irresponsible to just assume authorities got the data, especially when I've seen time and time again across hundreds of cases where authorities just moved on when they were met with any kind of resistance.

It could be that authorities have already been at work to get the cell phone records, and what evidence that may reveal isn't for me to say. It's clear, though, that this is an incredibly serious accident, and even seemingly straight-forward factors can't be taken for granted. The victim's loved ones deserve to know there won't be any unanswered questions once everything is said and done.