Aransas County, TX — September 20, 2025, Edith Trotman was killed and Cheryl Sczech and Joel Icenhour were injured in a car accident at about 5:50 p.m. on State Highway 188.

A preliminary accident report indicates that a westbound 2016 Nissan Versa collided with an eastbound 2014 Honda CR-V and a 2016 Nissan Frontier northeast of Tradewinds.

Versa driver Edith Trotman, 62, died from injuries suffered in the crash, according to the report.

CR-V driver Cheryl Sczech, 54, and Frontier driver Joel Icenhour, 65, were seriously injured in the crash, the report states. A 22-year-old passenger in the CR-V suffered minor injuries.

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

Commentary by Attorney Michael Grossman

After a serious collision, it’s natural to wonder what really happened and whether anything might have prevented it. When lives are lost or permanently altered, those left behind deserve more than assumptions. They deserve clarity.

Did the authorities thoroughly investigate the crash? Any crash involving multiple vehicles and a fatality calls for a high-level investigation. It’s not enough to document where the cars came to rest. Real understanding comes from reconstructing how they got there. That means mapping the scene with precision, analyzing physical evidence like skid marks and debris trails and checking into what each driver was doing in the moments before impact. The real challenge in cases like this is time and training. Smaller jurisdictions often do their best, but not every agency has dedicated crash reconstruction teams. Without that kind of focus, important details can slip through the cracks.

Has anyone looked into the possibility that a vehicle defect caused the crash? When a car unexpectedly crosses into oncoming traffic or can’t avoid another vehicle, it’s worth asking whether everything on that vehicle was working the way it should. Brake issues, steering failures or even a stuck throttle can turn a simple drive into something deadly. Unfortunately, unless someone specifically requests a mechanical inspection, these questions are rarely answered. In this case, with three different vehicles involved, each with its own wear and maintenance history, it’s vital that someone looks under the hood, literally and figuratively.

Has all the electronic data relating to the crash been collected? Today’s vehicles are rolling computers. They store data about speed, braking, steering input and more. That kind of information can paint a clearer picture of what happened in those final moments. Add in potential phone records, dash cams and nearby traffic cameras, and you have a powerful set of tools to cross-check the physical evidence. But that only works if someone takes the time to pull the data before it disappears. Delays in securing this kind of evidence often mean it’s lost for good.

When a crash ends a life and alters others forever, surface-level answers just don’t cut it. Real accountability, if any is needed, can only happen when all the right questions get asked and all the available evidence is preserved and studied.

Key Takeaways:

• It’s not clear yet if investigators dug deep or just documented the scene.
• Vehicle defects could be involved but may never be checked unless someone pushes for it.
• Important crash data may still exist, but time is running out to secure it.