Taylor Mill, KY — October 13, 2025, Jeffery Smith was killed in a dump truck accident at about 9:45 a.m. in the 5100 block of Taylor Mill Road.

Authorities said a southbound dump truck loaded with sand overcorrected after veering off the road near Redbud Drive and crashed head-on with a northbound pickup.

Pickup driver Jeffrey M. Smith, 66, died after being taken to an area hospital, according to authorities.

The dump truck driver suffered minor injuries, authorities said.

Authorities have not released any additional information about the Kenton County crash at this time. The accident is still under investigation.

Commentary by Attorney Michael Grossman

When people hear that a dump truck veered off the road and ended up in a fatal head-on collision, the obvious question is: How does something like that even happen? Dump trucks aren’t known for their agility or speed, so when one of them suddenly crosses into oncoming traffic, that’s not just bad luck. It’s a breakdown in control that demands a closer look.

Based on what’s been reported so far, a dump truck carrying sand went off the road, then overcorrected and hit a pickup head-on. But that brief summary leaves out several unanswered questions that will need to be resolved before anyone can understand who’s responsible.

For starters, what caused the dump truck to leave the road in the first place? Was the driver distracted, fatigued or impaired? Did a mechanical failure cause the vehicle to drift? Depending on whether the truck was speeding, swerving or reacting to something in the roadway, very different liability questions come into play.

And then there’s the matter of the overcorrection. Overcorrecting isn’t always a conscious decision. It can be a panic response or the result of poor training. That’s why it’s critical to know more about the driver’s experience and the kind of training the company provided. If the company cut corners on vetting or preparing the driver for emergency situations, that’s not just a mistake: it’s a failure of due diligence that may have contributed directly to the crash.

Another key element is the truck itself. The truck’s engine control module (ECM), also known as the “black box,” likely holds data on the truck’s speed, braking and steering inputs just before impact. That kind of evidence can help determine whether the truck driver was in control of the vehicle, or not. If the truck had in-cab cameras, those could show whether the driver was looking down, falling asleep or dealing with an unexpected hazard. And cell phone records can show whether a distraction played a role.

Having handled many commercial truck cases, I’ve seen situations where a company put a driver on the road who had no business operating heavy equipment. One case involved a driver who had been fired from multiple jobs before getting hired by a company that gave him just a 20-minute road test. When that driver caused a crash, we argued that the company wasn’t just negligent. It was reckless in how it chose to evaluate and employ its drivers.

The bottom line is that commercial truck crashes like this don’t just happen. They’re the result of choices, about hiring, training, maintenance and judgment behind the wheel. To figure out where those choices went wrong, someone will need to gather and analyze all the available evidence. Until that happens, we’re left with more questions than answers.

Key Takeaways:

• It’s unclear why the dump truck veered off the road in the first place. Distraction, impairment or mechanical issues are all possibilities that need to be investigated.
• The overcorrection that led to the head-on crash raises questions about driver training and control.
• ECM data, in-cab video and cell phone records could reveal whether the driver was acting responsibly at the time of the crash.
• The trucking company’s hiring and training practices may come under scrutiny if the investigation shows preventable errors.
• Real accountability depends on a thorough investigation into both driver behavior and company oversight.