North Garden, VA — July 29, 2025, Randall Bickel was killed and another person was injured in a truck accident at about 8 a.m. on U.S. Route 29/Monacan Trail Road.

Authorities said a pickup and a Krispy Kreme delivery truck collided head-on near Rock Branch Lane.

Pickup driver Randall D. Bickel, 67, of Covesville was pronounced dead at the scene of the crash, according to authorities.

The delivery truck driver was hospitalized with injuries that are not thought to be life-threatening, authorities said.

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

Commentary by Attorney Michael Grossman

When people hear about a head-on crash involving a pickup and a delivery truck, their first question is usually: How could two vehicles going in opposite directions end up in the same lane? It's a fair question, especially on a road like U.S. Route 29 that has clear lane markings and long sight lines in many areas. Unfortunately, at this point, we don’t have enough information to answer it, and that’s exactly the problem.

The report says the pickup and the Krispy Kreme delivery truck collided near Rock Branch Lane, but it doesn’t say which vehicle crossed into oncoming traffic or why. That one unanswered question makes all the difference in determining who’s ultimately responsible. Was this a case of driver distraction, mechanical failure or something else entirely? We can’t know until someone investigates further.

The most direct way to find answers is through hard evidence. If the delivery truck had an engine control module (ECM), essentially a vehicle black box, it may tell us how fast the truck was going, whether the driver hit the brakes or even whether there was any steering input before impact. Many trucks also have inward-facing and outward-facing cameras, which could reveal whether the driver was distracted, drowsy or reacting to something unexpected in the road. Cell phone records can also play a role in showing whether either driver was using their phone at the time of the crash.

Depending on which vehicle crossed the center line, different lines of inquiry arise. If the delivery truck veered into oncoming traffic, investigators will need to ask whether the driver was properly trained, whether the company that employs them screens its drivers carefully, and whether any mechanical issues were overlooked. On the other hand, if the pickup driver left their lane for some reason, then different questions about possible distraction or a medical emergency might come into play.

The key point is this: fatal truck accidents are rarely as simple as they appear at first glance. I’ve worked on cases where companies put drivers on the road who had no business being behind the wheel: drivers with long disciplinary histories, or ones who barely passed a joke of a road test. In those cases, the crash wasn't just about a moment of bad driving. It was about a company failing to make safe choices in the first place.

That’s why it’s critical for investigators to go beyond surface-level reports. The truth is in the data, in the driver histories and in the policies that shape how commercial vehicles operate on public roads.

Key Takeaways:

• The report doesn’t say which vehicle crossed into oncoming traffic, a crucial unanswered question.
• Evidence like ECM data, dash cam footage and cell phone records can help determine what really happened.
• If the delivery truck crossed the line, company training and hiring practices may also be relevant.
• Truck crash investigations require more than just police reports. They demand deep scrutiny of every contributing factor.
• True accountability only comes when all the evidence is gathered and properly analyzed.