Baton Rouge, LA — May 29, 2025, five people were injured in a truck accident at about 11:10 a.m. on eastbound Interstate 10.

Authorities said seven vehicles, including a semi-truck, were involved in a pileup near Siegen Lane.

Five people, including two children, were hospitalized after the crash, according to authorities. One person was in critical condition, while two had serious injuries. The severity of the others' injuries was not clear.

Authorities have not released any additional information about the crash. The accident is still being investigated.

Commentary by Attorney Michael Grossman

When people hear about a crash involving a semi-truck and multiple vehicles on a major highway like I-10, they naturally want to know: How did this happen? Was someone not paying attention? Could this have been prevented? In this case, reports say that a semi-truck was part of a seven-vehicle pileup that left five people hospitalized, including two children. But beyond that, details are scarce.

At this point, authorities haven’t said how the crash began or what role, if any, the truck played in triggering it. That’s not a minor gap in the story. Whether the semi was the initial cause or simply got caught up in a chain reaction changes the legal picture entirely. Did the truck rear-end a slowing vehicle? Was it hit by someone else first? These are critical questions, and until they’re answered, any assumptions about fault are premature.

We also don’t know whether the truck was stopped or moving, or even how fast traffic was flowing at the time. That kind of information is crucial, and the best place to get it is from the truck itself. Most modern semis are equipped with an engine control module that can show how fast the truck was going, whether the driver braked and even how long the vehicle had been in motion. Dash cams, if installed, can give a clear visual record of what the driver saw, or didn’t see.

If this truck had any kind of in-cab camera system, that footage could shed important light on whether the driver was distracted, fatigued, or otherwise not in control. Cell phone records might also be relevant here. It’s possible the driver wasn’t doing anything wrong, but we won’t know without verifying.

On the company side, this is also where hiring and supervision practices come into play. A proper investigation would look at whether the trucking company properly vetted and trained this driver. In the past, I’ve handled cases where drivers with checkered employment histories were hired with minimal evaluation. One company, for example, claimed a 20-minute road test was enough to assess a driver’s ability to handle a rig in any condition. That kind of corner-cutting can easily set the stage for a serious crash.

With seven vehicles involved, it’s entirely possible that multiple people or companies contributed to this wreck. That’s often the case in multi-car pileups. Maybe one driver braked suddenly, another followed too closely and the truck had no chance to stop. Or maybe the truck was the one that set off the domino effect. Either way, the only way to untangle that chain is through a full and independent investigation.

Key Takeaways

• It’s unclear what caused the pileup or what role the truck played.
• Black box data and dash cam footage could offer crucial insights.
• Driver phone records and training history may also need review.
• Company hiring and safety practices should be part of the investigation.
• Multi-vehicle crashes often involve multiple points of failure, not just one.