Caldwell County, TX — September 20, 2025, a Lockhart man was injured in a truck accident at about 9:15 p.m. on State Highway 80/San Marcos Highway.

A preliminary accident report indicates that a 2008 Jeep Wrangler and a 2000 Freightliner semi-truck collided southeast of Martindale, causing the truck to jackknife.

The Jeep driver, a 35-year-old Lockhart man, was seriously injured in the crash, according to the report.

The truck driver was not hurt, the report states.

Authorities have not released any additional information about the Caldwell County crash at this time.

Commentary by Attorney Michael Grossman

When people hear about a crash involving a jackknifed 18-wheeler, one of the first questions they tend to ask is: How does something like that even happen? That’s not just curiosity. It’s a question of accountability. A jackknife doesn’t come out of nowhere. Either the truck lost control, reacted to something or was operated in a way that made it unstable. But until we understand exactly what happened, it’s impossible to say who’s responsible.

According to reports, a Freightliner semi and a Jeep collided on State Highway 80. The truck jackknifed, and the Jeep driver was seriously hurt. We don’t yet know the sequence of events: Did the Jeep run into the truck, or did the truck cause the collision? Was the truck already jackknifing before contact, or did it happen as a result of the impact?

Depending on how the crash occurred, very different questions arise. If the truck jackknifed first — due to speed, over-braking or steering error — then the focus shifts to the truck driver’s actions and the condition of the vehicle. If, instead, the truck was struck and jackknifed as a result, we’d want to know what caused the other vehicle to make contact. Right now, the reports don’t make that clear.

This is where a thorough investigation becomes essential. A modern 18-wheeler has an engine control module (ECM), often called a “black box,” that records key data in the seconds leading up to a crash: speed, braking force, throttle position and more. Some trucks also have in-cab cameras that show exactly what the driver was doing. That kind of evidence helps us move beyond speculation and get to the truth.

Cell phone records can also be critical. Was the truck driver distracted at the time of the crash? We can’t know without pulling their phone records. And beyond the crash itself, what about the company that put that driver on the road? Did they vet his background properly? Was he trained to handle a vehicle that size, especially at night?

In a recent case I worked on, the truck driver had been fired from multiple companies before getting hired again with minimal screening. The company’s idea of a road test was a 20-minute drive that somehow claimed to measure a driver’s ability in daytime, nighttime and inclement weather. That’s not a test; it’s a rubber stamp. And it led to a completely preventable crash.

I’m not saying that’s what happened here. But the only way to know is to gather and analyze the right evidence; not just what’s at the crash scene, but the data and decisions behind the wheel.

Key Takeaways:

• A jackknife incident raises serious questions about what led to the loss of control.
• Right now, the crash sequence is unclear. Did the truck cause the crash or react to it?
• Black box data, dash cams and phone records are key to understanding what happened.
• The trucking company’s hiring and training practices may also come under scrutiny.
• Real accountability starts with a full investigation, not assumptions.