Marion County, MO — February 9, 2026, one person was injured in a truck accident at about 7:50 p.m. on U.S. Highway 24 east of Taylor.

Authorities said a northbound 2023 Freightliner semi-truck was trying to cross the highway when it collided with a westbound 2022 Toyota.

The Toyota driver, a 26-year-old Palmyra woman, was seriously injured in the crash, according to the report.

No other injuries were reported.

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

Commentary by Attorney Michael Grossman

When people read about a crash like this, the first thing they usually wonder is how a large semi-truck ends up in the path of a passenger car on a highway. Crossing traffic is one of the most dangerous maneuvers a truck driver can make, and it raises immediate questions about judgment, timing and what the driver could see at that moment.

Here, we’re told the Freightliner was trying to cross U.S. Highway 24 when it collided with a westbound Toyota. That sounds simple, but it leaves out a lot of critical details. We don’t yet know whether the truck came from a stop, rolled through an intersection or misjudged the speed of oncoming traffic. We also don’t know whether the truck driver had an unobstructed view of the highway or whether something interfered with that view.

It’s also not clear what the truck driver was doing in the moments before the collision. Was the driver distracted? Was there pressure to hurry across the highway to stay on schedule? Those are not things you can answer from a short police report. They require evidence. In cases like this, one of the first places investigators should look is the truck’s engine control module, often called the black box. That data can show whether the truck was accelerating, braking or idling at the time of impact.

Cell phone records can also matter. If the driver was on a call or using a phone while trying to cross the highway, that would raise serious concerns. Many trucks also have forward-facing or in-cab cameras. If this truck was equipped with one, video could show exactly how the maneuver unfolded and whether the Toyota was visible well before the collision.

Another unanswered question is whether company policies played a role. Was the driver properly trained on crossing high-speed highways? Did the company evaluate whether this driver could safely judge traffic gaps in low-light conditions, especially around 7:50 p.m. in February? I’ve seen cases where drivers were put in situations they weren’t truly prepared for, and that failure traced back to hiring or training decisions made long before the crash.

Right now, the only confirmed outcome is that a young driver was seriously injured. Determining how and why that happened requires more than a brief statement from authorities. It requires pulling records, preserving electronic data and looking closely at every decision that led up to the truck entering the roadway.

Key Takeaways

• A truck crossing a highway raises immediate questions about timing, visibility and judgment.
• We don’t yet know whether distraction, miscalculation or limited sight lines played a role.
• Black box data, cell phone records and camera footage can help explain what happened.
• Driver training and company policies may be just as important as the driver’s actions.