Hidalgo County, TX — May 31, 2025, 13 people were injured in a truck accident on State Highway 107 west of La Homa.

Authorities said a truck was heading east on S.H. 107 when it crashed into a car ahead of it.

Thirteen people were hospitalized with unspecified injuries after the crash, according to authorities. Twelve of them had been in the truck.

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

Commentary

When people hear about a crash involving a truck and a car that sends 13 people to the hospital, most of them in the truck, the first question they tend to ask is: How does something like that even happen? It’s a fair question, and one the public deserves a clear answer to. Unfortunately, based on what’s been released so far, we’re nowhere close to one.

The basic facts say that a truck going eastbound on SH 107 crashed into a car. That leaves some very important blanks. Was the car stopped, slowing down or moving at normal speed? Was the truck following too closely, or did the car cut in front of it? Did either driver attempt to brake or steer away before impact? None of that’s been disclosed.

It’s also not clear whether the truck was a commercial vehicle or a personal-use truck. That matters because if it was commercial, there are strict federal rules that govern driver behavior, hours on the road and how vehicles must be maintained. If a company was involved, that opens the door to questions about hiring, training, supervision and policies that may have contributed to the crash.

The detail that really jumps out is that 12 people were in the truck. That’s far from normal in most cases. A passenger vehicle might carry that many during a group trip or transport, but if we’re talking about a work truck, especially a commercial one, that raises red flags. Was this a crew being transported to a job site? Was the truck rated to carry that many passengers? Were there enough seats and seatbelts?

I’ve seen cases before where companies loaded more workers into a vehicle than it was built to hold. Sometimes that’s done to save a buck or shave off a few minutes, but when a crash happens, it can drastically increase the number of injuries and raise serious legal consequences.

To figure out what really happened, investigators need to go beyond the accident scene. First and foremost, they should secure:

• Dash cam footage, if it exists, to show how both vehicles were moving.
• The truck’s ECM (“black box”) data, which can reveal its speed, brake use and other key factors.
• Cell phone records of the truck driver, in case distraction played a role.
• Maintenance logs and company policies, to check whether the vehicle was roadworthy and used properly.
• Driver records, to see if the truck operator had prior issues behind the wheel.

It’s not enough to chalk this up to “an accident.” Depending on what the evidence shows, the root cause could point to poor judgment by an individual, or deeper problems like company negligence in how they run their operations. I’ve handled cases where drivers were placed behind the wheel with no real vetting, and the consequences were severe. When you cut corners in hiring or ignore safety limits, it’s only a matter of time before someone gets hurt.

Key Takeaways

• The crash involved a truck rear-ending a car, but crucial details about both vehicles’ movements remain unknown.
• The presence of 12 people in the truck raises serious questions about the truck’s purpose, capacity and use.
• Whether this was a personal vehicle or a commercial one will shape what regulations apply and who may bear legal responsibility.
• Independent evidence like black box data, cell phone records and dash cams will be critical to determining fault.
• If a company was behind the truck’s use, its hiring and safety practices should be scrutinized as part of the investigation.