Mattoon, IL — July 10, 2025, David Greeson was killed due to a truck accident sometime in the evening along State Highway 16.

According to authorities, the accident took place at the intersection of S.H. 16 (E County Road 750 N) and Lerna Road (N County Road 870 E).

Details surrounding the accident remain scarce. Officials indicate that, for as yet unknown reasons, a collision took place between a passenger vehicle and an 18-wheeler. David Greeson—an 84-year-old man from Neoga—reportedly sustained fatal injuries due to the wreck. Additional information pertaining to this incident is not available at this point in time. The investigation is currently ongoing.

Commentary by Attorney Michael Grossman

When someone is killed in a collision involving an 18-wheeler at a rural intersection, the key question is which vehicle had the right of way—and how did the other one fail to recognize it? Crashes like this often come down to a single misjudgment at a stop sign or an unprotected turn, but understanding why that decision was made is what determines where the responsibility lies.

At intersections like State Highway 16 and Lerna Road, it's common for one direction of traffic to have priority, while the other is controlled by stop signs. If one of the vehicles entered the intersection without yielding properly, the cause may seem straightforward—but the reason for that error still needs to be explained. Was the driver distracted? Did they misjudge the distance or speed of the oncoming truck? Were there obstructions, such as vegetation or signage placement, that limited visibility?

From the truck driver’s side, there are also questions to answer. Was the truck speeding through the intersection? Was the driver alert and prepared to respond to a vehicle entering their path? I’ve worked on cases where the truck technically had the right of way but was going too fast to respond safely when another vehicle entered the intersection—turning what might have been a near-miss into a fatal impact.

Because this crash occurred in the evening, lighting conditions may also play a role. Investigators should consider whether sun glare, low visibility, or fading daylight limited either driver’s ability to see the other in time. That kind of detail isn’t always obvious from crash reports, but it can be critical when trying to determine how much time either driver had to respond.

Ultimately, determining who is at fault means reconstructing not just where each vehicle was—but how each driver made decisions in the moments leading up to the collision.

Key Takeaways

• The central question is which driver failed to yield and whether they had a fair opportunity to avoid the crash.
• Investigators should evaluate visibility at the intersection, including signage, obstructions, and lighting conditions at the time of the crash.
• Even if one vehicle had the right of way, speed and driver attentiveness still factor into the overall assessment of fault.
• A full reconstruction will need to include black box data from the truck, physical evidence from the scene, and an analysis of driver behavior.
• Accountability depends on more than who entered the intersection—it depends on whether both drivers had the information and time they needed to make a safe decision.