Cascade, IA — April 30, 2025, Seth Ettleman was injured in a truck accident at about 10:15 a.m. on U.S. Route 151.

Authorities said a tanker truck was slowing to turn left onto North Cascade Road when it was hit from behind by another vehicle.

The driver of the other vehicle, Vinton resident Seth R. Ettleman, 48, was hospitalized with unspecified injuries after the crash, according to authorities.

Authorities have not released any additional information about the Dubuque County crash.

Commentary

Rear-end collisions often come with a built-in assumption about fault. Most people believe the trailing driver is automatically to blame. But that belief doesn’t always hold up under legal scrutiny, especially when commercial trucks are involved.

In my experience, the real question in a rear-end crash like this one is whether the commercial driver signaled and slowed properly and whether their vehicle was clearly visible. For example, was the truck’s brake lighting functioning? Did it have reflective markings or signage that would alert other drivers, especially during the daytime?

On top of that, the turn itself raises questions. Was it made from a proper lane? Did the driver check for a safe opportunity to turn, or did they stop suddenly in a live lane without sufficient warning? I’ve seen plenty of cases where poor judgment by a truck driver or bad vehicle maintenance left another driver with no reasonable way to avoid a crash.

A thorough investigation here would include examining the truck’s engine control module (or “black box”) data, checking dashcam footage if available and reviewing physical evidence from the road. Without that kind of follow-up, any assumption about who’s responsible would be premature.

Just because one vehicle struck another from behind doesn’t mean the facts support a simple conclusion. The law looks at conduct, not position, and that makes evidence the deciding factor.