Grand Rapids, MI — May 28, 2025, one person was killed and three others were injured in a truck accident at about 5:50 a.m. on northbound U.S. Route 131.

Authorities said a van crashed into a disabled pickup that was stopped in the center lane of the highway near Exit 85B. The van subsequently was struck by a semi-truck.

The 35-year-old man who was driving the van died in the crash, according to authorities, while three passengers were hospitalized with serious injuries. Their names have not been made public at this time.

No other injuries were reported.

Authorities have not released any additional information about the crash north of the Interstate 196 interchange. The accident is still being investigated.

Commentary by Attorney Michael Grossman

When people read about a crash involving a van, a pickup, and a semi-truck, they naturally want to know how something like that could happen, especially at 5:50 in the morning on a major highway like U.S. Route 131. Was someone distracted? Did someone stop where they shouldn’t have? Why couldn’t the truck avoid the wreck? These are reasonable questions, but so far, we don’t have clear answers.

From the available reports, it appears a van struck a disabled pickup that was stopped in the center lane. After that, a semi-truck hit the van. The van’s driver was killed, and three passengers were seriously injured. The only thing that's certain right now is that there are a lot of unanswered questions, and that’s a problem if we want to understand what truly happened.

The reports don’t tell us why the pickup was disabled in the center lane. Was it a mechanical issue? Did it run out of gas? Was it hit earlier and left there? We also don’t know if it had its hazard lights on or if the van driver had time to react. These details matter.

As for the truck, it's unclear whether it was following too closely, speeding or simply unable to avoid the collision because the crash had already occurred. Depending on when the truck arrived on the scene, it might not have been possible for the driver to stop in time, or it might have been, had the driver been paying attention.

One of the first steps in any proper investigation is to examine the truck’s ECM, or "black box." That will tell us how fast the truck was going, whether the brakes were applied and if there were any sudden maneuvers before impact. In-cab cameras, if present, might also show what the driver was doing in the seconds before the crash. Cell phone records can tell us if the driver was distracted. These tools are indispensable when trying to understand what really went wrong.

Another thing people don’t often realize is that crashes like this might involve more than just the drivers. If the pickup had a mechanical failure, was it maintained properly? If it had been in a previous wreck and left in the road, why wasn’t it cleared? If the truck driver failed to avoid the collision, was he properly trained? Did the trucking company put him on the road with a poor safety record?

I handled a case once where a company hired a driver who had been fired from several previous jobs for safety violations. Their idea of a driving test was 20 minutes on the road during the daytime. That’s not real screening. So when that driver made a mistake that got someone hurt, the company’s poor hiring practices turned out to be a big part of the story. Something similar could be true here, but no one will know unless someone digs in and asks those tough questions.

Key Takeaways:

• It’s unclear why the pickup was disabled or whether it had warning signals on.
• We don’t yet know whether the semi-truck could have avoided the crash.
• Black box data, dash cams and phone records will be crucial to understanding what happened.
• Responsibility could extend beyond the drivers to include maintenance crews or the trucking company.
• Independent investigation is essential to uncover the full story and determine accountability.