Victoria County, TX — August 1, 2025, Laura Zuver was injured in a truck accident at about 9:20 p.m. on U.S. Route 77 near Quail Creek.

A preliminary accident report indicates that a 2026 International semi-truck was heading the wrong way on the southbound highway when a 2016 Toyota Corolla collided with its trailer.

The driver of the Toyota, 41-year-old Beeville resident Laura Zuver, was seriously injured in the crash, according to the report.

The truck driver, who was not hurt, was cited for driving the wrong way after the crash, the report states.

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

Commentary

When people hear about a crash where an 18-wheeler was driving the wrong way on the highway, one question immediately comes to mind: How in the world does something like that happen? It's not enough to just say the truck was going the wrong direction. We need to know how it ended up there and why no one stopped it before things went wrong.

According to reports, a semi-truck was heading the wrong way down U.S. Route 77 when a car hit its trailer. The car’s driver was seriously hurt. The truck driver wasn’t hurt and was later cited for driving the wrong way. But as far as public information goes, that’s where the explanation ends. There’s no mention of how long the truck had been going the wrong way, how fast it was moving or whether it entered the wrong lanes intentionally or by mistake.

Depending on whether the truck had just entered the highway or had been traveling against traffic for miles, very different questions arise. For instance, was the driver impaired or disoriented? Did GPS directions or poor signage play a role? Or could this have been a case of extreme fatigue, where the driver was simply too tired to realize where he was?

These aren’t just idle questions. They're answerable through proper investigation. For starters, the truck’s engine control module (ECM) likely recorded speed, braking and steering inputs before the crash. Dash cams, if installed, could help clarify what the driver saw and did. And the driver’s cell phone records might show if he was distracted at the time.

Beyond that, the trucking company’s policies and hiring practices could come into play. For example, how well was this driver screened before being hired? What kind of training did he receive? I’ve seen cases where drivers with poor histories were still put behind the wheel of a semi-truck because no one took the time, or made the effort, to do a real background check. One client’s case I handled involved a driver who had been fired multiple times for safety issues, yet was hired again and allowed to operate a fully loaded semi. It turned out the company’s so-called “road test” was a 20-minute drive that somehow covered all weather conditions, on a sunny day.

The key point is this: We can’t assume the driver is the only one who may have made a mistake. It’s entirely possible he was at fault. But it's also possible that decisions made by people further up the chain — dispatchers, safety directors or hiring managers — created the conditions that made this crash inevitable. We won't know until someone gathers the evidence and holds it up to the light.

Key Takeaways:

• A wrong-way semi-truck crash raises serious questions about how and why the truck ended up in the wrong lanes.
• Key evidence like ECM data, dash cams and phone records can clarify the truck driver’s actions before the crash.
• Depending on what the evidence shows, liability may extend beyond the driver to the trucking company or others involved in hiring and oversight.
• Without a full investigation, it’s too early to know who’s truly responsible for the crash.
• Accountability depends on following the evidence, not assumptions.