Greene County, OH — March 27, 2025, Dontay Henderson and William Pointer were injured in a truck accident at about 1:45 a.m. on U.S. Route 35.

Authorities said a 2025 Mack Anthem semi-truck crashed into the back end of a 2024 Volkswagen Jetta while both vehicles were headed west near U.S. Route 68. The impact forced the Jetta into a ditch on the right side of the road, while the truck went through the median and jackknifed across the eastbound lanes of the highway.

Jetta driver Dontay L. Henderson, 41, and passenger William L. Pointer, 46. were hospitalized with life-threatening injuries, according to authorities.

The truck driver was not injured in the crash.

Authorities have not released any additional information about the Greene County crash. The accident is still under investigation.

Commentary by Attorney Michael Grossman

Crashes like the one reported in Greene County raise serious questions about how well some truck drivers manage the basic responsibility of following at a safe distance, especially in the dead of night, when visibility and reaction time are naturally compromised.

According to early reports, a semi-truck rear-ended a passenger vehicle on U.S. Route 35. The collision was forceful enough to send the Jetta into a ditch and send the truck through the median, where it jackknifed across the eastbound lanes. Both occupants of the car were left with life-threatening injuries. The truck driver was reportedly unharmed.

When a semi-truck rear-ends a smaller vehicle, it’s often a sign of two possible failures: either the driver wasn't paying attention, or they were following too closely. Sometimes it’s both. At highway speeds, a fully loaded 18-wheeler can take the length of two football fields to come to a stop, and that’s under ideal conditions. Add in nighttime driving, potential fatigue and even modest distraction, and the margin for error disappears fast.

There’s also a broader issue at play here that I see time and again in my work. Many of the worst crashes don’t start with extreme weather or reckless speed: they happen in situations where a truck simply isn’t being driven with the level of care its size demands. That’s a management issue as much as a driver issue. A well-run trucking company sets policies to prevent drivers from getting too close to vehicles ahead, especially in the early morning hours when alertness tends to dip. Companies that don’t enforce those standards are gambling with other people’s lives.

The truck in this case jackknifed across the opposite lanes. That didn’t just endanger the people in the Jetta: it put everyone on that stretch of highway at risk. It’s fortunate no eastbound drivers were caught in the aftermath.

Ultimately, what we see here isn’t just a single moment of impact: it’s a breakdown in safe driving habits that should have been reinforced long before that truck ever hit the road. Rear-end crashes involving heavy trucks are almost always preventable, and when they aren’t prevented, the people in the smaller vehicles are almost always the ones who suffer most.