UPDATE (October 19, 2023): Napa County officials have publicly identified the victims killed in the lumber truck accident as 52-year-old Christian Deaton and 48-year-old Michelle Deaton. There have yet to be any official charges reported.

Napa County, CA — October 17, 2023, two cyclists were killed as the result of a lumber truck accident before noon along Silverado Trail.

Authorities said in their initial statements that they were called to the scene around 11:00 a.m. just off the intersection of Silverado Trail and Oak Knoll Avenue.

According to current statements, a man in his 50s and a woman in her 40s were on bicycles traveling along Silverado Trail at the time. Footage in the news shows the bicycles off the side of the road, and nearby on the road is a clear marking for bicycle travel along the right lane. Authorities say a lumber truck going in the same direction had a cargo shift which left lumber protruding off the right side of the flat bed. It appears the shifted cargo struck both riders as the truck passed them on the left.

The news says the man hit by the lumber died at the scene while the woman died following transport to a hospital. Authorities have yet to release their names to the public. They also have yet to report any pending charges or citations, and the investigations are ongoing.

Commentary by Attorney Michael Grossman

Reading the reports about this accident gave me pause. Many people who aren't familiar with truck accidents may read this story and assume it's rather straight-forward, but it's actually far more complex than it appears. The reason is that any time a cargo accident occurs, investigators not only have to investigate the crash scene, but also the facility where the cargo originated in order to determine who is responsible for the accident. And in my experience, such an investigation doesn't always happen. Allow me to explain.

Not long ago, for example, I helped a family with a wrongful death case following a truck accident which also involved improperly loaded cargo. In that case, a business loaded a large steel slab onto a trailer that was way too short, leaving it dangling off the back end of the trailer. On the end of the cargo was supposed to be a red visibility flag, but it was so worn and faded that it may as well have been invisible. A manager at the steel mill told the truck driver he had to take the load as it was or lose out on the mill's business. In a bind, the trucker accepted the dangerous load. Later, as he turned across a highway and waited for cross traffic to pass, our clients' loved one crashed into the dangling slab, which sheered his car, killing him.

When all was said and done, the authorities blamed the truck driver and pursued criminal charges against him. However, no one bothered to track down the company where the cargo originated. In fact, it was our investigation that alerted authorities to the facility's role in the crash. Ultimately, the company was held to account, too, but they likely would have not answered for their role in the crash but for my firm's efforts.

All of this is to say that the more complex an accident scenario, the more investigators tend to miss. While we hope that authorities nail this investigation, hope isn't always up to the task in a crash like this.