Gardner, MA — June 23, 2025, Darrell Sweeney was injured in a truck accident at about 2 p.m. at the intersection of Elm Street and Temple Street.

Authorities said a semi-truck collided with a bucket truck at the intersection, causing a utility worker to fall from the bucket after his harness broke.

City worker Darrell Sweeney was seriously injured in the crash, according to authorities.

No other injuries have been reported.

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

Commentary by Attorney Michael Grossman

When people hear about a utility worker falling from a bucket after a collision between a semi-truck and a city bucket truck, the first question they tend to ask is: “How on earth did a crash like that happen in the middle of an intersection?” It’s a fair question, and one we don’t yet have answers to based on what's been reported so far.

From a legal standpoint, one of the first things I'd want to know is whether either vehicle had the right of way. Intersections are controlled by signs or signals for a reason, and any failure to observe them — whether by distraction, misjudgment or impatience — can quickly lead to serious injuries like the ones reported here.

But this case isn’t just about who had the green light. Depending on how the collision occurred, different legal questions arise. For instance, was the bucket truck already stationary with a worker elevated when the semi approached? Or were both vehicles moving through the intersection? It’s not clear from the information available, but that distinction matters a lot. If the bucket was extended and visible, any attentive truck driver should have recognized that a collision risk existed and taken steps to avoid it. On the other hand, if the city truck was in motion or entering the intersection unexpectedly, that opens a different set of investigative angles.

Another key detail is that the worker’s harness reportedly “broke,” which contributed to his fall. That raises additional concerns about whether the fall protection equipment was properly inspected or maintained. It’s one thing for a worker to be shaken by a collision; it’s another for the very equipment designed to save him to fail in the process. Whether that failure stemmed from wear and tear, poor quality or improper usage is yet another layer of the investigation.

To get to the bottom of all this, a thorough investigation would need to pull in evidence from multiple sources. That includes traffic light data, dash cam footage (especially from the semi-truck if equipped), black box data from both vehicles and maintenance records for both the truck and the harness. Witness accounts can be useful, but hard data often tells the more reliable story.

I’ve handled intersection crash cases where a single bad decision triggered a cascade of consequences, and I’ve handled others where a mix of carelessness and bad policy created a dangerous worksite. Until all the facts are in, it's impossible to say where the responsibility lies, but someone will need to answer for what happened here.

Key Takeaways:

• It’s unclear whether the semi or the bucket truck had the right of way; that will be central to understanding fault.
• Whether the utility bucket was elevated and stationary or the truck was in motion changes the legal picture significantly.
• The reported failure of the worker’s harness raises separate questions about safety equipment inspection and maintenance.
• Dash cams, black box data and intersection signal logs will be crucial to reconstructing what actually happened.
• Multiple parties — including vehicle operators, employers and equipment manufacturers — could bear responsibility depending on what the evidence shows.