Midland County, TX — June 20, 2025, Sven Phelps and three others were injured following an 18-wheeler accident at 4:45 p.m. along Highway 158.

According to initial details about the accident, it happened in the area of Highway 158 and FM 1379 east of Midland.

Investigators said that 22-year-old Sven Phelps and three others were in a Mazda CX-5 going eastbound on the highway. A Peterbilt semi-truck was going northbound when the truck allegedly failed to yield. Due to this, authorities say the two vehicles collided.

Authorities say that Sven Phelps and two of the other Mazda passengers were seriously injured. The fourth occupant had possible minor injuries. Reports suggest authorities recommended a citation against the truck driver for failing to yield.

Commentary by Attorney Michael Grossman

When a semi-truck fails to yield and collides with a passenger vehicle—especially one carrying multiple people who end up seriously hurt—it’s easy to see a citation and assume the case is closed. But in commercial truck crashes, a traffic ticket is just the beginning. If a professional driver made a mistake this serious, the bigger question is: Did the trucking company play a role in making that mistake more likely?

Citations tell us what happened in the moment. What they don’t tell us is why it happened or whether someone else—namely an employer—helped create the conditions that led to the crash. That’s what needs to be investigated. Was the driver under pressure to make a tight delivery window? Had they been driving long hours without adequate rest? Was the intersection part of a poorly planned route that the driver wasn’t familiar with? These are the kinds of details that companies are responsible for getting right—and too often, they don’t.

Also, in many of the hundreds of commercial vehicle accident cases I’ve handled, companies cut corners on training, ignored federal limits on driving hours, or failed to monitor driver behavior despite knowing a driver had a history of reckless behavior. That kind of neglect doesn’t often show up in a typical police investigation, so it might go unnoticed unless there are more experienced eyes looking over the details.

That’s why a real investigation needs to go beyond the crash scene itself. If investigations are too narrow, they might let responsible parties slip under the radar, and they might fail to address serious problems which might continue to put lives at risk if left unchecked.

Key Takeaways

• A citation for failing to yield identifies a mistake, but not necessarily the root cause behind it.
• Trucking companies may contribute to unsafe decisions through scheduling pressure, poor training, or lack of oversight.
• Investigators should examine driver logs, company records, and route planning to assess the employer’s role.
• Citations are a starting point—not a substitute for a full investigation into the crash.
• Real accountability in commercial truck crashes includes the systems that shape how drivers operate—not just the moment they made a wrong move.