Oconee County, SC — September 23, 2025, Rafael Veloz was killed and three other people were injured in a truck accident at about 6 a.m. on Interstate 85.

Authorities said a northbound 2016 Freightliner semi-truck rear-ended a 2013 Honda sedan that was slowing for traffic near mile marker 2, starting a chain reaction that also involved a pair of Chevrolet pickups. The semi and the Honda crossed the median barrier after the collision and hit a southbound 2015 Chevrolet pickup.

Honda driver Rafael B. Veloz, a 34-year-old Georgia resident, died at the scene of the crash near Fair Play, according to authorities.

The drivers of the three Chevrolet pickups were hospitalized with unspecified injuries, authorities said.

The truck driver was not hurt, according to authorities.

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

Commentary by Attorney Michael Grossman

When a crash starts with a semi rear-ending a passenger car in traffic, most folks assume the truck driver must’ve been distracted or following too closely. That may turn out to be the case here, but we don’t know that yet. What we do know is that this wasn’t a simple fender bender. A man lost his life, several others were hurt and the crash set off a chain reaction that sent both the car and the 18-wheeler across the median into oncoming traffic.

That raises more questions than answers. For starters, why did the truck rear-end the sedan to begin with? Was traffic slowing gradually, or did something happen up ahead that caused a sudden stop? More importantly, what was the truck driver doing in the seconds before the crash? Was he distracted, speeding or fatigued? These are exactly the kinds of questions that black box data, in-cab cameras and phone records are designed to answer.

And let’s not overlook the crossover. After the initial impact, both the truck and the car breached the median barrier and entered the opposite lanes. That detail matters because it shows just how much energy was involved. Depending on how and why that happened, different liability questions could come into play. For example, if the truck driver had been properly controlling his speed and following distance, could this entire sequence have been avoided? Or was there some other factor — road design, tire failure, improper maintenance — that contributed?

None of that can be answered with a quick glance at the crash scene. It takes a thorough investigation. That means collecting physical evidence, interviewing witnesses, downloading engine control module data, and examining the trucking company’s hiring, training and safety practices. I’ve handled cases where a company knowingly put an unqualified driver behind the wheel, and the results were catastrophic. Until we see the full picture here, it’s too early to pin this on one person or one mistake.

What’s clear is that a lot went wrong in a very short period of time. The job now is to figure out exactly what that was, and who should be held accountable for it.

Key Takeaways:

• The key issue is why the semi rear-ended the Honda sedan: driver distraction, speed or something else?
• The crossover into oncoming traffic suggests a high-energy crash with potential implications for liability.
• Evidence like ECM data, phone records and in-cab cameras will be crucial to understanding what happened.
• Depending on the cause, both the driver and the trucking company’s safety practices could come under scrutiny.
• Getting answers requires a full, independent investigation, not guesswork or assumptions.