Freeborn County, MN — June 3, 2025, Titian Elizabeth Butash was injured in a truck accident at about 3:30 p.m. on eastbound Interstate 90.

Authorities said a 2007 Ford Focus collided with a 2020 Peterbilt semi-truck near mile marker 158, just west of the Interstate 35 interchange.

Ford driver Titian Elizabeth Butash, 69, of Austin was hospitalized with non-life-threatening injuries after the crash near Albert Lea, according to authorities. The truck driver was not injured.

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

Commentary by Attorney Michael Grossman

When people hear about a collision between a small passenger car and a semi-truck, their first instinct is to assume the smaller vehicle must have been at fault. But from a legal standpoint, we can’t, and shouldn’t, jump to that conclusion without first asking: What do we actually know? What evidence has been gathered? And more importantly, what questions still haven’t been answered?

Right now, we know that a Ford Focus and a Peterbilt 18-wheeler collided on I-90 near the I-35 interchange. The Ford driver was hospitalized with injuries, while the truck driver was reportedly unhurt. What we don’t yet know is how that collision occurred. Was one vehicle merging? Did someone brake suddenly? Did either driver lose control? Depending on whether the truck was in motion or stopped, or whether either vehicle drifted out of its lane, very different legal questions could emerge.

From my experience handling truck accident cases, one of the first steps to figuring out what happened is obtaining hard evidence. That includes data from the truck’s engine control module (or "black box"), which can tell us things like the truck’s speed, braking activity and throttle use in the seconds before impact. If the truck was equipped with in-cab cameras or dash cams, that footage could provide a play-by-play account of the crash. Cell phone records can help determine whether either driver was distracted. And driver logs and delivery schedules can shed light on whether the trucker was fatigued or under pressure to meet unrealistic deadlines.

Another key piece of the puzzle is the trucking company’s hiring and supervision practices. Was this driver adequately vetted? Were they properly trained? I’ve handled cases where drivers were hired despite multiple firings or red flags, and the companies that employed them didn’t perform even the most basic safety checks. If a driver causes a crash because they were unqualified or should never have been behind the wheel, that’s not just on the driver; it’s on the company that put them there.

Of course, it’s also possible that the car driver made a critical mistake. But the only way to reach that conclusion responsibly is by collecting all the available evidence; not by relying on assumptions or incomplete reports. Right now, authorities are still investigating, and until they or an independent investigation fills in those blanks, much of the story remains untold.

Key Takeaways:

• It’s not yet clear what caused the crash between the Ford Focus and the 18-wheeler.
• Critical evidence like ECM data, dash cam footage and phone records will help clarify how the collision happened.
• Depending on the facts, either or both drivers, or even the trucking company, could bear responsibility.
• A thorough investigation is necessary to determine who should be held accountable.
• Without evidence, early assumptions about fault are premature and often misleading.