Longview, TX — August 10, 2024, Cross Baker was injured in a car accident at about 10:15 p.m. in the 5400 block of West Marshall Avenue/U.S. Route 80.

A preliminary accident report indicates that a westbound 2017 Ford F-150 collided with a 2013 Ford Fusion that was turning left onto Silver Falls Road.

Fusion driver Cross Trevion Baker, 19, was seriously injured in the crash, according to the report. The man riding with him was not hurt.

F-150 driver Kallie Carmack, 19, and her passenger suffered minor injuries, the report states.

The report does not include any additional information about the Gregg County crash.

Commentary by Attorney Michael Grossman

Some crashes happen so fast that even those involved are left with more questions than answers. It's easy to assume that the story ends once emergency crews clear the scene and the wreckage is gone. But for those trying to understand why a serious crash happened, that’s often just the beginning.

Did the authorities thoroughly investigate the crash? A turning vehicle and a straight-traveling truck colliding at night presents a scenario where timing and positioning matter immensely. Was the truck speeding? Did the Fusion driver misjudge the gap? Those aren’t questions you can answer from a few photos and witness statements. It takes a real crash reconstruction — laser measurements, trajectory analysis, even lighting studies to account for nighttime visibility — to get it right. Unfortunately, many local crash reports don't go that far, and whether that happened here is unclear.

Has anyone looked into the possibility that a vehicle defect caused the crash? When a crash involves a high-speed impact or a sudden maneuver, mechanical issues can’t be ruled out without a proper inspection. If the Fusion had delayed steering or braking response, or if the truck had worn tires or malfunctioning headlights, that would change how this crash is understood. But unless someone takes a close look under the hood, literally, these things stay hidden.

Has all the electronic data relating to the crash been collected? Both vehicles were modern enough to store crash-relevant data. That includes speed, braking and steering inputs in the seconds leading up to impact. Phones and GPS records might show distractions or help establish where each driver had been beforehand. With such critical injuries involved, there’s no reason not to pull every bit of digital information available. Whether that happened yet is anyone’s guess.

When serious injuries are involved, it’s not enough to rely on surface-level details. Digging deeper — into the scene, the machines and the data — gives families and investigators a clearer view of what really happened and why.

3 Key Takeaways:

• Basic crash reports rarely answer how or why a serious wreck occurred.
• Mechanical failures can play a hidden role and require expert inspection.
• Vehicle and phone data can confirm or contradict assumptions about driver behavior.