East Rutherford, NJ — March 19, 2025, Rasheed Folaji was killed in a truck accident at about 3:35 a.m. on the New Jersey Turnpike/Interstate 95.

Authorities said a BMW was headed south near mile marker 113.6 when it crashed into a slower-moving semi-truck.

BMW driver Rasheed Folaji, 28, died in the crash, according to authorities.

No other injuries were reported.

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

Commentary

If the truck was slow-moving at the time of the crash, that raises serious questions about how this collision happened and whether it could have been avoided. Too often, when a passenger vehicle crashes into a semi-truck, people assume the smaller vehicle’s driver must be at fault. In my experience, that’s not always the case. The real issue isn’t just who hit whom: it’s why the crash happened in the first place.

A key factor here is the truck’s movement. At 3:35 a.m., visibility was likely poor, so investigators need to determine whether the truck was merging, changing lanes or attempting a maneuver that put it in the path of faster-moving traffic. Semi-trucks take a long time to accelerate, and if a truck entered the highway too slowly, it could have created an unavoidable hazard for other drivers. Did the truck driver check for approaching traffic? Were they accelerating at a reasonable pace? If not, they may have contributed to the crash.

Another concern is whether the truck had mechanical issues or was improperly loaded. A poorly maintained truck or an overloaded trailer can struggle to reach highway speeds, leaving it vulnerable to rear-end collisions. Investigators should review the truck’s black box data and maintenance records to determine if equipment failure played a role.

At the same time, it’s still important to examine the BMW driver’s actions. Was speed a factor? Did road conditions contribute to the crash? If the truck was moving unusually slow, was it because the driver was responding to something in the road? Without clear answers, jumping to conclusions doesn’t help anyone.

This is why a proper investigation has to go beyond the crash scene. If authorities simply write this off as “a car rear-ended a truck,” they’re missing the bigger picture. The only way to ensure accountability is to gather and analyze all the available evidence, no matter where it leads.