Hall County, GA — March 30, 2023, Sherry Ann Hewell was killed due to a semi-truck accident at 3:00 p.m. along Poplar Springs Road.

Investigators said that the incident happened near the intersection of Poplar Springs Road and Can Crossing Drive. Details suggest that 52-year-old Sherry Hewell was in a Pontiac sedan stopped waiting to make a left turn. While there, a dump truck crashed into the back of Hewell's vehicle.

Due to the collision, Hewell sustained fatal injuries. The dump truck driver is said to be facing a charge of Homicide by Vehicle as well as one for Following Too Closely. No further information is available at this time.

Commentary by Attorney Michael Grossman

I can't offer any specific details about this crash not already in the news, but a truck driver facing such a serious charge is obviously a huge red flag. Authorities clearly have enough evidence that they believe they could get a conviction in criminal court, which as we all know has the steep bar of "guilty beyond a reasonable doubt." The result of that will obviously depend on the proceedings through the criminal courts, but that can take quite a while. In the meantime, are there other steps being taken to get answers for the victim's loved ones and to ensure all responsible parties are going to face the appropriate consequences?

Like I said, I can't speak on this specific wreck. But I've had many instances similar to this come through our firm where a reckless truck driver caused an accident, but they weren't the only ones to blame. For example, one not long ago involved a truck driver that had been driving for over 20 hours straight—well beyond federal limits. But as we dug deeper, we found that mistake was just a symptom of a much larger problem.

Evidence showed that driver's employer routinely coerced drivers into meeting ludicrous deadlines. Those deadlines all but required drivers to speed, driver recklessly, driver over their hours, skip on maintenance, and otherwise engage in behavior no responsible truck driver would. As such, making things right wasn't simply getting a negligent driver a court date. It was about bringing all of those issues to light, making sure there were adequate consequences, and taking the necessary steps to ensure those reckless actions wouldn't harm others in the future.

So as more details come out about this awful event, I can't help wondering if similar findings will come to light. I'd hate to think that a family might put their trust in the authorities only to find there were other important details the authorities overlooked.

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