Eugene, OR — November 5, 2025, one person was injured in a truck accident at about 6:30 a.m. on State Highway 126/West 11th Avenue.

Authorities said a northbound semi-truck and an eastbound log truck collided at the intersection with Green Hill Road.

One driver was hospitalized in critical condition after the crash, according to authorities, but it is not clear which truck the driver was operating.

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

Commentary by Attorney Michael Grossman

When people hear about a crash involving a semi-truck and a log truck on a busy highway, their first reaction is usually, “How could something like this happen?” That’s a fair question, especially when one of the drivers ends up in the hospital and there’s no clear word yet on which truck they were in or what went wrong.

Based on what’s publicly known so far, we don’t have enough detail to say who caused the crash or even what sequence of events led to the collision. But what is clear is that a collision between two commercial trucks, particularly involving a load as dangerous as logs, raises serious questions that deserve real answers.

For starters, what exactly happened at the intersection of State Highway 126 and Green Hill Road around 6:30 a.m.? Were both trucks moving at the time? Did one turn in front of the other? Was speed a factor, or visibility an issue? These are not just details. They’re central to determining who, if anyone, failed to act responsibly.

Depending on how the crash happened, the focus could shift to any number of issues: Did either truck run a light or ignore a stop sign? Was one driver distracted or fatigued? Did improperly secured cargo shift and destabilize a vehicle? These aren’t hypothetical questions. They’re the kinds of things that can only be answered with evidence, and the sooner that evidence is preserved, the better.

Some of the most reliable sources of that evidence include:

• Engine control modules (ECMs) that track speed, braking and throttle activity in real time.
• In-cab cameras, if installed, that may show what the driver was doing just before the crash.
• Cell phone records, which can confirm or rule out distracted driving.
• Driver qualification files, which may reveal whether one of the drivers should have been behind the wheel in the first place.

I handled a case not long ago where a company hired a driver with a known history of safety violations. Its evaluation process was so flimsy that it amounted to little more than handing over the keys. That kind of hiring practice can absolutely come back to bite a company, especially when innocent people get hurt.

Right now, with so few facts publicly available, we’re left with more questions than answers. But in my experience, getting to the truth in crashes like this requires a thorough investigation that doesn’t just stop at the crash scene. It goes deeper: into hiring files, training procedures, maintenance records and anything else that helps paint a full picture.

Until that work is done, no one should rush to judgment about who’s at fault. The goal isn’t to guess. It’s to know.

Key Takeaways:

• A crash between a semi-truck and a log truck raises complex liability issues that depend heavily on how the crash occurred.
• Critical evidence includes black box data, dash cam footage and driver history, none of which have been reported so far.
• It’s not yet clear which truck the injured driver was operating or what caused the crash.
• Thorough investigations must look beyond the crash itself and into the companies’ safety practices and hiring procedures.
• Determining accountability depends on gathering all the facts, not speculation.