Hollins, VA — April 7, 2025, Phuong-Ahn Ha was killed in a truck accident at about 1:50 p.m. in the 7500 block of Williamson Road/U.S. Route 11.

Authorities said a pedestrian was hit by a semi-truck near Plantation Road.

Pedestrian Phuong-Ahn Ha, 19, died after being taken to a local hospital, according to authorities. The Vietnam resident was a student at Hollins University.

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

Commentary

When a pedestrian is struck and killed by a semi-truck on a roadway like Williamson Road, the most important questions investigators need to answer are why that pedestrian was in the truck’s path to begin with, and whether the driver had a fair chance to avoid her. In this case, a 19-year-old college student was hit near Plantation Road and later died from her injuries. That fact alone demands a careful, thorough investigation.

Semi-trucks are built for highway travel, not pedestrian-heavy areas. When these vehicles operate in urban or mixed-use corridors — where people walk, cross streets or access businesses — drivers must adjust their behavior accordingly. That means slowing down, scanning the roadway constantly and being prepared for the unexpected. A person on foot is far more vulnerable, and professional drivers are held to a higher standard precisely because of the risk their vehicles pose.

Key details that remain unclear here will determine the legal significance of the truck driver’s actions. Was the pedestrian in a marked crosswalk? Were traffic signals functioning properly? Was visibility limited by weather, road design or other vehicles? And just as important: how fast was the truck traveling, and did the driver have time to react? These are not academic questions. They go directly to whether this was a truly unavoidable incident or the result of a failure to meet the duties that come with operating a commercial vehicle.

Investigators should be reviewing dashcam footage, GPS and ECM data from the truck and any traffic or surveillance cameras in the area. They’ll also need to gather witness statements and map out the pedestrian’s path to determine whether she was crossing lawfully or appeared suddenly. But even in cases where a pedestrian may have been outside of a crosswalk, the responsibility to avoid a collision doesn’t disappear, especially for a driver trained to anticipate road hazards.

At the end of the day, pedestrian fatalities involving commercial trucks often come down to a breakdown in awareness or a moment where the driver failed to account for their surroundings. A student walking near her campus should not lose her life in the middle of the day on a public road. That’s not just a tragic situation. It’s one that deserves a full investigation focused on how it happened, and whether the person behind the wheel — and the company that put them there — did everything the law requires to prevent it.