UPDATE (October 17, 2025): Officials identified the man killed in the accident as 60-year-old Jose Manuel Mendoza.

San Antonio, TX — October 15, 2025, a truck driver was killed due to a loading dock accident at around 1:00 p.m. off of Northeast Loop 410.

Reports say that the incident took place at the Pepsi bottling plant located near NE Loop 410 and Old Seguin Road.

According to preliminary statements, a 60-year-old truck driver was outside of his truck picking things up off the ground in the cargo area. Reports say the man was wearing a safety vest. While retrieving the items, another truck driver backing into the loading dock struck the man.

As a result of the collision, the 60-year-old trucker was killed. Authorities have not reported any charges at this time. Additional details are unavailable.

Commentary

In all likelihood, resolving a situation like this is going to be far more complex than just some run-of-the-mill work accident. This is primarily due to the fact the driver and the victim aren't likely co-workers, but there are other potential hurdles to consider, as well. Let me explain.

Generally speaking, work accident law tends to cover what avenues are available for a worker's loved ones when the victim's injuries were caused due to their own work. In other words, work accident law applies when workers, their co-workers, or their employers do something that leads to an accident. That area of the law could partially apply here, depending on certain factors.

However, if the employee of another company does something wrong, and it gets another worker killed, then the accident may instead fall within the confines of a typical commercial vehicle accident. For example, a trucking company whose negligent driver runs over a pizza delivery person in a parking lot isn't going to be in the clear just because the victim was on the clock. The same principle could apply here.

But this accident may have involved even more complex hurdles than that. This happened in a loading dock area. I've handled loading dock accidents before, and something authorities too often overlook is the design and maintenance of the dock area itself. I had a case, for example, where the pavement leading up to a dock was too steep. That led to truck drivers dangerously gunning their truck backwards to overcome the steep grade. Inevitably, drivers being forced to operate their trucks dangerously led to catastrophe. These are reckless conditions the property owners have to address, which is why it would be a possibility worth investigating here.

To be clear, I don't know anything more about the circumstances surrounding this accident than what's already in the news. However, experience tells me a police report and even OSHA may not be enough to cover the full scope of what may have led to this accident. There may need to be more thorough independent investigations to delve into these possibilities so the victim's family can move forward knowing the whole story.