Mendocino County, CA — January 26, 2026, at least one person was killed in a truck accident at about 9:30 p.m. on U.S. Highway 101/Redwood Highway.

Authorities said a semi-truck, a pickup and another vehicle were involved in a crash near mile marker 77.5 south of Leggett.

At least one person, whose name has not been made public yet, died in the crash, according to authorities.

Two people suffered minor injuries, authorities said, while two others were not injured.

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

Commentary by Attorney Michael Grossman

When people hear that a semi-truck, a pickup, and another vehicle collided on Highway 101, leaving at least one person dead and others injured, the first question that comes to mind is: How could something like this happen? It’s a fair question, and not one that can be answered by simply knowing how many vehicles were involved or what time it happened.

The truth is, we don’t yet know what caused these three vehicles to collide, and without that, we don’t know who, if anyone, was at fault. Depending on whether the truck was moving, stopped, changing lanes or if another vehicle lost control, different questions arise. That’s exactly why thorough investigations are necessary in cases like this.

Was the semi-truck following too closely or changing lanes unsafely? Did the pickup stop short or swerve unexpectedly? Could poor lighting, driver fatigue or even a mechanical failure have played a role? These are the kinds of questions that black box data, dash cam footage and physical evidence from the scene can help answer. And without that evidence, any guess about fault is premature.

There’s also the issue of driver history and company oversight. Was the truck driver properly vetted before being hired? What kind of training did they receive? I’ve worked on cases where drivers who had no business being behind the wheel were put on the road anyway, often by companies that either cut corners or failed to ask the right questions. In one such case, a driver was hired despite being fired from multiple prior jobs. A shallow road test was somehow enough to put him back behind the wheel of a multi-ton vehicle.

Depending on what the investigation turns up, it’s entirely possible that more than one party shares responsibility here. That’s not uncommon in crashes involving multiple vehicles and commercial trucks. Sometimes, the real issue isn’t a single bad decision; it’s a chain of failures that all line up at the worst possible time.

At the end of the day, the only way to make sense of a crash like this, and to hold the right people accountable, is by gathering all the facts. That includes cell phone records, driver logs, cargo manifests, black box data, witness statements and everything in between. Without that, there’s no way to know if this was a random accident or a preventable one.

Key Takeaways:

• It’s not yet clear what caused this three-vehicle crash involving a semi-truck on Highway 101.
• Determining fault requires a thorough investigation, including vehicle data and driver behavior.
• Black box records, dash cams and company hiring practices may all shed light on what happened.
• Multiple parties could share responsibility depending on how the crash unfolded.
• Evidence, not assumptions, is the only reliable path to accountability.