Irving, TX — July 1, 2024, Brittany Galbraith and two children were injured following a semi-truck accident at around 10:00 p.m. along the Airport Freeway.

According to initial statements from authorities, the accident happened on eastbound lanes of TX-183 in the area of Regal Row.

Investigators said that 28-year-old Brittany Galbraith was in a Nissan Kicks along with two children going eastbound on the freeway. In a series of events not clear right now, the vehicle ended up crashing into a stationary tractor-trailer. That 18-wheeler was reportedly on the right shoulder, but part of the vehicle was said to be in the lane of travel. Due to the collision, Galbraith and one of the children had serious injuries while the second child's injuries were said to be less serious.

Right now, other details can't be confirmed.

Commentary by Attorney Michael Grossman

With these statements saying the truck was partially in the road, it brings up serious questions: Why was the truck stopped on the side of the road? And, did it have cones or flares placed correctly behind the truck to ensure the obstruction was visible? Let me explain why that matters.

I had this case a while back involving a truck that broke down along the highway, and someone crashed into it. The truck driver said they experienced an unavoidable mechanical issue and had no choice but to pull over immediately. Well, we had accident reconstructionists look into things, and it turned out the truck driver made some serious mistakes.

For one, the truck broke down because of a completely avoidable mechanical issue. It happened because the driver's employer skipped regular maintenance work, meaning the issue likely wouldn't have occurred had they simply kept up with repairs. Second, the mechanical issue didn't actually require stopping where the vehicle created an obstruction for highway traffic. It still would have been mobile enough for the driver to find somewhere safer to pull over, but the driver instead panicked and stopped right away. Lastly, the driver was stopped for several minutes, yet failed to put out any warning cones or flares as is required by federal guidelines. All of that led to a situation where an unsuspecting motorist hit a truck that never should have been there in the first place.

To be clear, I am not saying that happened here. There could be a lot more to this story than what's currently public. It's just that when people see someone run into a stationary vehicle, they tend to assume the driver in the moving vehicle must automatically be at fault. That's not true. The law is nuanced enough that it's important to know all of the actions leading up to the accident, how avoidable they were, and whether or not some mistakes were more serious than others. Are investigators addressing those factors here?