UPDATE (December 18, 2024): Further information from authorities identified the man killed in the accident as 24-year-old Alberto Rodriguez of Menlo Park.

Fresno, CA — December 2, 2024, one person was killed and five were injured due to an 18-wheeler accident at around midnight on Interstate 5.

Public information about the deadly 18-wheeler crash is scarce at this time. It's not clear exactly where the collision occurred.

Details currently say that there was a Subaru going along northbound lanes of Interstate 5 at the time. At some point, the Subaru was stopped behind a Freightliner up ahead. Approaching those vehicles, a northbound Volvo tractor-trailer reportedly did not slow down in time. It crashed into the Subaru, pushing it into the Freightliner.

One person in the Subaru died as a result of the collision. Five others from the same vehicle had reportedly minor or moderate injuries. There were no other confirmed injuries. Currently, factors surrounding the crash remain unclear.

Commentary by Attorney Michael Grossman

With a crash like this, folks may assume things are open-and-shut. When a commercial truck crashes into slowed or stopped traffic, it's usually a sign the driver was speeding, following too closely, or being inattentive. Despite that, these crashes almost always present unique challenges. That's because it's just as important to find out what happened as it is to find out why it happened. Here's why that matters.

I had this case not long ago, for example, where a truck driver caused a crash after being behind the wheel for over 20 hours straight. It was obvious the truck driver did something wrong, so authorities blamed the crash on that and moved on. Meanwhile, the family had asked us to look into things, and we kept digging beyond where authorities stopped. That's when we found that the driver's employer contributed to the crash through their own negligent behavior.

Evidence showed this company would routinely set ludicrous deadlines for drivers to meet. They expected drivers to use phones while driving, speed, make reckless turns and u-turns, driver over hours of service limits, skip maintenance, and otherwise cut every corner possible to meet the deadlines. Drivers who didn't risked losing their livelihoods, so it was just a matter of time before people got hurt. The company didn't give a damn about the public or even their own drivers. So long as they got their way and didn't get caught, they were satisfied. Well, thanks to the victim's family seeking out more thorough independent investigations, that company was caught.

I'm not necessarily saying anything like that led to this crash, but just focusing on the drivers and the crash scene itself can allow important details beyond the crash scene to slip through the cracks. Maybe this all was some one-in-a-million, unavoidable crash. Maybe it was one driver being reckless on their own. Or, maybe this was the inevitable result of a whole pattern of reckless decisions. Ultimately, it's up to the evidence to say what happened, and the victims and families involved deserve to see that evidence as soon as possible.