Mayfield, KY — March 27, 2025, Sandra Prejean was injured in a truck accident at about noon on northbound State Highway 45.

Authorities said a vehicle crashed into the back of a stopped semi-truck at 36 Grace Park Road.

Driver Sandra Prejean, 35, was hospitalized with non-life-threatening injuries after the crash, according to authorities.

No other injuries were reported.

Authorities have not released any additional information about the Graves County crash at this time. The accident is still under investigation.

Commentary by Attorney Michael Grossman

Anytime someone rear-ends a stopped semi-truck, the common assumption is that the driver of the passenger vehicle must have been distracted or not paying attention. But in my experience, the legal reality is a bit more complicated. The key question is whether the semi-truck was stopped in a safe and legal manner.

Commercial drivers are trained to understand that their vehicles pose serious hazards when parked or stopped in active traffic lanes or shoulders. If a truck is disabled or pulled over, federal regulations require the driver to take steps to warn other motorists, like activating hazard lights and placing reflective triangles or flares. Those aren’t optional: they’re there because a stopped trailer can be nearly invisible until it’s too late to react, especially during the middle of the day when shadows can obscure the trailer’s outline.

This crash happened at noon, so lighting probably wasn’t a problem. That raises the question: Was the truck stopped where it should have been? If it was parked in a travel lane, partially in the roadway or near an intersection without adequate warning, then liability could shift toward the truck driver or their employer. I've litigated cases where investigators originally assumed the smaller vehicle was at fault, only for later evidence — like dashcam footage, traffic cam angles or the truck's engine control module data — to reveal that the truck created the hazard in the first place.

Another angle worth exploring is why the truck was stopped. Was it disabled? Making a delivery? Taking a break? If it wasn’t an emergency, then parking in a high-traffic area like a highway near Grace Park Road could be considered reckless or negligent, depending on the exact circumstances.

And finally, the trucking company's role can’t be overlooked. Did they properly train the driver on where and how to stop safely? Did they enforce safety protocols for roadside emergencies? That level of responsibility often doesn’t get addressed unless someone digs deeper than the crash report.

Bottom line: while rear-end crashes often look like open-and-shut cases, they deserve a closer look, especially when a commercial truck is involved. Until someone answers whether the truck created a hazard by being stopped where it shouldn’t have been, it’s far too soon to assume who’s legally at fault.