Esau Foster Killed in Truck Accident near Frackville, PA

Schuylkill County, PA — September 2, 2025, Esau Foster was killed in a truck accident at about 2:20 p.m. on northbound Interstate 81.

Authorities said a GMC Acadia hit the back tire of a Kenworth semi-truck while changing lanes near mile marker 119 near Frackville. The impact caused the SUV to overturn several times before coming to rest in the median.

GMC driver Esau Foster, 81, of Kingston died after being flown to an area hospital, according to authorities.

The truck driver was not injured, authorities said.

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

Commentary by Attorney Michael Grossman

When a crash involves a passenger vehicle striking a large truck, most people assume the smaller vehicle is at fault. That may turn out to be true here, but assumptions are no substitute for evidence. If a man lost his life, we should be asking hard questions about what exactly happened and why.

According to reports, a GMC Acadia hit the back tire of a Kenworth semi-truck while changing lanes on Interstate 81. That caused the SUV to roll over multiple times. But this leaves a key issue unresolved: What caused the SUV to clip the truck’s rear tire in the first place?

Did the SUV driver misjudge the truck’s position while changing lanes? Or was the truck partially in both lanes? Depending on the relative positions and speeds of both vehicles, very different questions arise. Unfortunately, there’s not enough information in the public reports to answer those questions yet.

When I’ve handled cases involving similar impacts, often called “sideswipe” or “lane-change” collisions, the truth usually comes down to hard data. Engine control module (ECM) data, dash cam footage and driver logs often tell a more complete story than what’s written in a police report. For instance, the truck’s ECM might show whether the driver was accelerating, braking or veering at the moment of impact. If there’s a dash cam or in-cab camera, it could show which vehicle made the unsafe movement.

There’s also the question of visibility. Was there a blind spot issue? Were the truck’s mirrors properly adjusted? I’ve worked on cases where a trucker claimed not to see a car, only for video to prove it was clearly visible. The only way to settle these disputes is with the kind of evidence that can’t lie.

And let’s not forget the truck driver’s background. What kind of training did they have? How long have they been on the road? Some companies put inexperienced drivers behind the wheel with little more than a checklist and a road test. If this driver had a history of close calls or had only recently been hired, that could matter a lot when figuring out what went wrong.

Right now, there’s no public evidence that the truck driver did anything wrong. But until someone digs into the vehicle data, driver records and any available video, we’re left with too many unanswered questions. That’s a problem; not just for accountability, but for getting an honest understanding of what happened on that highway.

Key Takeaways:

• It’s not yet clear whether the SUV struck a properly positioned truck or if the truck’s position contributed to the crash.
• Critical questions, like lane positioning and driver behavior, can only be answered by ECM data, dash cam footage and call records.
• A thorough investigation should include the truck driver’s experience, training and driving history.
• Public reports alone don’t reveal enough to determine who was at fault or whether the crash could have been prevented.
• Getting to the truth requires more than assumptions. It takes evidence.