Galveston County, TX — March 17, 2023, John Pham was injured as the result of a truck accident that happened at 9:00 a.m. in Santa Fe.

Preliminary details about the crash say it happened at the intersection of FM 646 and 4th Street. Authorities say that 66-year-old John Pham was in a Toyota Rav4 traveling northbound along FM 646. At 4th Street, police believe that an eastbound commercial truck failed to yield, crashing into Pham's vehicle.

Pham had injuries described as incapacitating following the wreck. The investigating officer apparently recommended their be a citation for failure to yield following the crash. Right now, no further information is available.

Commentary by Attorney Michael Grossman

One point worth mentioning here is that authorities mentioned inattention as a contributing factor. If true, that seems simple enough. But things are rarely simple when commercial vehicles are involved. There are almost always barriers between victims and getting answers, and it's important to anticipate those obstacles.

For example, I had a situation not long ago clearly caused by distracted driving. But while it was easy enough to say the driver had been on their phone, their employer claimed he didn't own one. As ridiculous as that sounds, it was our burden to prove otherwise. Well, thanks to a long deposition, the driver slipped up and admitted he had a cell phone at the time (big surprise), which meant we were able to get a court order for the records. That's how we were able to show the driver was busy watching pornography at the time of the crash—yes, seriously.

I wish that example was unusual, but it's the norm when it comes to seeing accountability after just about any commercial vehicle accident. The simple fact of the matter is there are things to take responsibility for, and the people that should take responsibility are going to do whatever they can not to. Hopefully there has been more work behind the scenes to ensure there is more evidence than what little I've seen publicly, damning as it may seem.

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