Butler County, MO — January 19, 2026, a teen driver was injured following a semi-truck accident at around 9:15 a.m. along County Road 525.

According to initial details from the Missouri State Highway Patrol, the incident took place just north of Poplar Bluff on CR-525.

Investigators said that an 18-year-old man was in a Ford Mustang going southbound along the roadway. A Freightliner semi-truck was going northbound. Authorities say that the Ford crashed head-on into the semi-truck.

Due to the collision, the teen Mustang driver sustained moderate injuries. At this time, no further information about the accident is available at this time.

Commentary by Attorney Michael Grossman

There has to be a far more thorough investigation into what happened here before anyone tries to draw any conclusions. To that end, though, I have to wonder what steps authorities have taken to this point. For example, did the victim get to provide a statement and tell their side of the story?

I've often found that when a teen driver is involved in a crash, authorities are sometimes unmotivated to hear them out. They just assume the young, inexperienced driver did something wrong, and they work from that starting point. After any serious accident, though, it's important to start from square one. that means putting aside all biases and letting the evidence speak for itself.

If authorities are doing that here, that would be good to know. However, if details aren't adding up, or if investigators don't take steps to get a statement from everyone involved in the crash, those could be red flags. If it ever seems like authorities may be overlooking certain possibilities and letting their biases steer the investigations, independent investigators may need to step in set things straight before evidence is damaged or allowed to slip through the cracks.