Wayne County, KY — April 27, 2025, Elijah Bolen was killed and Seth Bolen was injured in a truck accident at about 8 a.m. on State Highway 90.
Authorities said a car was turning from Murl Road/Highway 1546 when it was hit by a semi-truck.
Passenger Elijah Bolen, 18, was pronounced dead at the scene of the crash, according to authorities, while driver Seth Bolen, 19, was flown to an area hospital with serious injuries.
The truck driver was treated and released for unspecified injuries after the crash, authorities said.
Authorities have not released any additional information about the crash southwest of Monticello. The accident is still being investigated.
Commentary by Attorney Michael Grossman
When a passenger vehicle is struck by a semi-truck while turning onto a highway, the legal investigation centers on whether the truck driver was traveling at a safe speed and whether the turning driver had a reasonable opportunity to complete the maneuver safely. In this crash on State Highway 90, an 18-year-old passenger lost his life and the 19-year-old driver was seriously injured. That outcome demands a thorough examination of how both vehicles approached the intersection.
Highway intersections, especially those involving side roads like Murl Road, require heightened attention from all drivers. For a car turning onto a highway, the responsibility is to yield to oncoming traffic. However, commercial drivers also carry a heavy duty to operate safely, particularly when approaching areas where other vehicles may be entering the roadway. If the semi-truck was traveling too fast for conditions, or if the truck driver failed to adjust speed as he neared an intersection, that could have reduced the turning driver’s margin of safety to almost nothing.
One critical piece of evidence will be the truck’s engine control module, which can show speed, throttle use and braking activity leading up to the crash. Investigators should also examine whether there was any signage indicating a reduced speed zone near the intersection or warnings for cross traffic. If the highway had limited visibility due to curves, hills or vegetation, that could have contributed to the difficulty of safely completing a turn.
At the same time, investigators will need to determine whether the car’s driver misjudged the distance and speed of the oncoming truck. Intersections without traffic signals put a lot of pressure on individual drivers to gauge gaps in traffic correctly, a task that becomes much harder when oncoming vehicles are traveling at or above highway speeds.
Ultimately, this crash highlights the dangers of rural highway intersections where side roads meet major thoroughfares. Both drivers have duties under the law: the turning driver must yield appropriately, and the highway driver must operate at a speed and with an awareness that allows for safe reaction to foreseeable hazards, including vehicles entering from side roads.
When a life is lost and another young person is left seriously injured, the investigation must focus not just on who technically had the right of way, but on whether reasonable decisions were made by everyone involved to prevent the worst-case scenario. Because when the margin for error is measured in seconds, a safe outcome depends on both drivers seeing the risk — and respecting it — before it’s too late.
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