Wayne County, NY — July 14, 2025, Ahmed Sulieman was injured in a truck accident at about 9 a.m. on State Route 104/Ridge Road East near Wolcott.

Authorities said an eastbound car hit the trailer of a semi-truck that was turning left from State Route 370/Great Lakes Seaway Trail.

The truck driver allegedly failed to yield before making the turn onto Route 104, according to authorities.

The driver of the car, 26-year-old Ahmed Sulieman of Henrietta, suffered life-threatening injuries in the crash, authorities said. He was taken to a Syracuse hospital for treatment.

No other injuries were reported.

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

Commentary

When people hear that a car ran into the side of a turning 18-wheeler, their first question might be: how could that even happen? After all, semis aren’t exactly quick or stealthy. But in my experience, these kinds of crashes often come down to whether the truck had any business turning across traffic when it did.

According to early reports, the truck driver in this case was making a left turn onto Route 104 when the crash occurred, and authorities say he failed to yield to oncoming traffic. That raises serious questions about the trucker’s decision-making and whether he assessed the road conditions and traffic correctly before turning. At the same time, it’s not clear whether the car had time or space to react, or whether something about the truck’s position or speed made a collision unavoidable.

To answer those questions, investigators will need to look beyond surface-level impressions. The first place to start is with the truck’s engine control module, its black box. It can show how fast the truck was going, how hard the driver was braking (if at all) and when exactly the turn began. That’s vital because the margin for error is razor-thin when a fully loaded semi blocks a highway lane. Dash cam footage or in-cab camera systems, if present, could also show whether the driver had a clear view of the oncoming vehicle or if something interfered with that line of sight.

Call logs, too, could be revealing. Was the driver distracted by a phone call or a text? I've handled cases where those digital records made the difference between guessing and proving what went wrong.

Of course, trucking company policies should also come under the microscope. Was the driver properly trained on safe turning procedures at busy intersections? Did the company give realistic delivery schedules, or did time pressure lead to risky driving decisions? It’s a mistake to assume the problem ends with the driver. Often, the root cause lies in company practices that reward speed over safety.

At the end of the day, this crash raises more questions than answers. But those questions aren’t rhetorical; they’re the exact kind that can and should be resolved through evidence. That’s the only way to figure out what really happened and who should be held responsible.

Key Takeaways:

• Whether the truck driver properly assessed traffic before turning is a central, unanswered question.
• Black box data and dash cam footage can reveal key details about speed, timing and visibility.
• Cell phone records may show whether the driver was distracted at the time of the crash.
• Trucking company practices around training and scheduling should also be examined.
• Thorough investigation is the only way to determine who is truly responsible.