Nobles County, MN — April 11, 2025, Thomas Lostetter was killed in a truck accident at about 11 p.m. on westbound Interstate 90.

Authorities said a 2018 Dodge Ram 2500 collided with a 2018 Peterbilt semi-truck as both vehicles were headed west near mile marker 27.

Dodge driver Thomas Charles Lostetter, 46, was pronounced dead at the scene of the crash, according to authorities. The West Virginia resident had not been wearing a seatbelt.

The truck driver was not injured in the crash, authorities said.

Authorities have not released any additional information about the crash near Adrian. The accident is still under investigation.

Commentary by Attorney Michael Grossman

When two vehicles traveling in the same direction collide on an interstate, especially when one is a passenger truck and the other a commercial semi, the legal analysis starts with a critical question: Which driver failed to maintain proper lane position, following distance or awareness of surrounding traffic? In this crash on I-90 near Adrian, where the driver of the Dodge Ram lost his life after colliding with a Peterbilt semi-truck, the cause of that breakdown will determine where responsibility lies.

At 11 p.m., visibility is limited, and fatigue can begin to play a role in driver performance. That puts even more pressure on commercial drivers to remain alert and predictable in their movements. However, the responsibility isn’t one-sided: drivers of passenger vehicles also have a duty to operate safely when merging, overtaking or driving near large trucks.

The report does not specify whether this was a rear-end collision, a side-swipe or a lane-change conflict. That distinction matters. If the Dodge Ram struck the semi from behind, the focus would shift to whether the driver was following too closely or misjudged the truck’s speed. If, on the other hand, the semi drifted into the Ram’s lane or made an improper maneuver, liability could shift toward the truck driver.

Regardless of the direction of fault, investigators will need to review both vehicles' physical damage, positions at rest, skid marks and any dashcam footage to determine how the crash unfolded. The semi-truck’s engine control module will be especially useful, as it can reveal whether the truck was braking, accelerating or making any sudden changes in direction or speed at the time of the crash.

The report notes that the driver of the Dodge was not wearing a seatbelt, which may have contributed to the severity of the fatal injuries. While that detail matters from a safety standpoint, it doesn’t eliminate the need to determine why the crash occurred in the first place. Seatbelt usage affects injury outcomes. It doesn’t assign blame for the collision itself.

The broader issue here is that crashes involving commercial trucks and passenger vehicles traveling in the same direction don’t happen without a breakdown in space management. Whether that failure came from an inattentive truck driver or a passenger vehicle making an unsafe maneuver, the result was fatal. The investigation should focus on who created the unsafe conditions and whether it was a momentary lapse, or the result of larger issues like fatigue, distraction, or inadequate training.

Because when two vehicles traveling the same direction end up in a deadly collision, the question isn’t just who was in the wrong place. It’s who made the wrong decision that put them there.