Harris County, TX — August 10, 2024, Gregorio Guerrero was killed following an 18-wheeler accident at around noon along Grand Parkway.

Authorities said in preliminary statements that the crash happened along Highway 99 east of the Hardy Toll Road, just outside Spring.

According to officials, Gregorio Guerrero was driving a Ford F-350 along the highway. In circumstances which aren't clear right now, authorities say an 18-wheeler crashed into the back of Guerrero's pickup. This then pushed Guerrero's vehicle into a forklift. As a result, Guerrero was killed. A passenger in Guerrero's vehicle and a person on the forklift were both taken from the scene for medical treatment.

Commentary by Attorney Michael Grossman

While details aren't confirmed right now, Harris County officials allege that the truck driver admitted to "reading messages on his cellular device." If that's true, then that would make this seem pretty open-and-shut. But there isn't really any open-and-shut commercial truck accident when investigations are handled properly. That's because there could be circumstances surrounding the truck driver's employment that made the crash all but inevitable.

For example, I had a case a while back that clearly shows why even distracted driving isn't necessarily simple or straight-forward. In that accident, police found that a truck driver was texting and driving when they caused a serious accident. We dug deeper, and it came to light the driver was texting his supervisor. This supervisor would constantly call and text drivers all day, micromanaging them and demanding they respond immediately. If drivers didn't respond quickly enough, they risked getting in trouble. Inevitably, this led to drivers using their phones while behind the wheel all to appease their boss's ludicrous expectations.

In a situation like that, would it really be okay for that company to just let their driver take all the blame when a supervisor is creating an environment that makes an accident more likely? Of course not. There needs to be consequences for both the driver's mistakes and mistakes by the employer that also played a role in the crash. That's why it's important for investigations to look beyond the crash scene itself to understand the entire context of the events leading to the accident. Perhaps investigations would reveal this all was due to a reckless individual. But if there's more to the story, the victims and loved ones involved deserve to know.