Cherry Valley, IL — May 2, 2025, one person was killed and at least one other person was injured in a truck accident at about 11 a.m. on Interstate 39.

Authorities said a semi-truck was headed north near Baxter Road when it crashed into a passenger van.

One person in the van died in the crash, according to authorities, and at least one other person was hospitalized with unspecified injuries. Their names have not been made public yet.

Authorities have not released any additional information about the Winnebago County crash at this time. The accident is still being investigated.

Commentary

People don’t think much about what it takes to drive a semi-truck, until something goes wrong. That’s especially true when crashes happen on highways like I-39, where traffic moves fast and the margin for error is thin. When a semi-truck hits a passenger van hard enough to cause a fatality, one of the first questions I ask is how much of that outcome hinged on the driver’s awareness and control of their rig.

It’s not enough for a truck driver to simply keep the vehicle between the lines. On a high-speed road, they have to manage their speed, account for traffic patterns and constantly scan for any changes up ahead. That means keeping a safe following distance, anticipating slowdowns and being ready to respond to sudden stops, especially near interchanges or construction zones where the flow of traffic can change without much warning.

We don’t yet know what led to this crash, but a semi colliding with a van in broad daylight raises questions about situational awareness. Was the truck driver distracted or following too closely? Were there visual obstructions that kept them from seeing the van in time? Did they fail to recognize slowing traffic or lane changes? These are basic operational decisions that go from routine to critical in the span of seconds.

Truck crashes like this one aren’t just about physics. They’re about habits. Drivers who don’t keep sharp or who rely too heavily on assumptions often put others at risk without realizing it. If that’s what happened here, the result wasn’t just a crash. It was a fatal breakdown in judgment. And that’s exactly the kind of failure the industry has to treat as unacceptable.