Reeves County, TX — December 17, 2025, Dedron Sells was injured in a truck accident at about 5:20 a.m. on U.S. Highway 285.

A preliminary accident report indicates that a 2024 Volvo semi-truck was heading northwest when it allegedly ran a stop sign and collided with a 2012 Hyundai Santa Fe at the intersection with R.M. 652/County Road 108.

Hyundai driver Dedron Sells, 42, was seriously injured in the crash northwest of Mentone, according to the report.

The truck driver, who was not hurt, was cited for disregarding a stop sign, the report states.

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

Commentary by Attorney Michael Grossman

When people hear that a semi-truck allegedly ran a stop sign and hit another vehicle, one of the first questions that comes to mind is, How does something like that happen? A stop sign isn’t subtle. If a truck blows through one and causes a serious crash, the natural follow-up is, Was the driver distracted, impaired or just not paying attention? But here’s the problem: the public rarely gets answers to those questions unless someone does the work to dig into the evidence.

According to reports, the 18-wheeler in this case was cited for disregarding a stop sign. That’s a serious traffic violation, and it gives us a basic outline of how the crash happened. But citations alone don’t explain why the driver missed the stop. Was he looking at his phone? Was he too fatigued to react in time? Or was there something wrong with the truck’s braking system? We don’t know, because those details aren’t in the report.

Getting to the bottom of that requires more than just reading police paperwork. It means pulling cell phone records to see if the driver was distracted. It means downloading data from the truck’s engine control module (the “black box”) to find out whether the driver braked at all, or whether he was speeding through the intersection. And if the truck was equipped with in-cab cameras, those could show what the driver was doing in the seconds before the crash.

Beyond the driver’s conduct, there’s also the question of how the trucking company trained and supervised him. Did they check his driving record before putting him behind the wheel? Do they monitor driver fatigue or run compliance audits? These are real-world concerns because I’ve handled cases where companies hired drivers who had no business being on the road, sometimes with disastrous results.

I understand that from the outside, this might look like an open-and-shut case. But in my experience, even straightforward-seeming truck crashes often turn out to be more complicated. Getting a citation doesn’t automatically mean someone’s legally liable in civil court, and skipping the hard questions doesn’t help the people hurt by the crash get real answers.

Key Takeaways:

• A citation for running a stop sign raises serious concerns, but doesn’t explain why the truck failed to stop.
• Crucial evidence — like ECM data, phone records and dash cam footage — can clarify the driver’s actions before impact.
• The trucking company’s hiring and supervision practices may be relevant, depending on the driver’s record and training.
• Accountability hinges on a full investigation, not just traffic tickets or initial reports.
• Without deeper scrutiny, critical facts about what happened and who’s responsible may never come to light.