Saline County, MO — July 3, 2025, one person was killed and another person was injured in a truck accident at about 9 a.m. on U.S. Route 65.

Authorities said a 2020 Dodge Caravan was headed south when it collided with a northbound 2015 Kenworth semi-truck south of Marshall. The impact forced the Dodge into the median, while the truck crossed the median and ended up in the ditch on the west side of the road.

The Dodge driver, an 84-year-old Slater woman, died after being flown to an area hospital, according to authorities. Her passenger, an 85-year-old man, was hospitalized with moderate injuries. Their names have not been made public yet.

The truck driver was not injured in the crash, authorities said.

Authorities have not released any additional information about the Saline County crash at this time.

Commentary by Attorney Michael Grossman

When people read about a crash where a semi-truck crosses the median and ends up in a ditch, it naturally raises the question: How does something like that happen? After all, big rigs don’t just veer off course for no reason. But right now, there’s no information about what caused this truck to cross over into the wrong side of the road. Without that, we’re left with a major unanswered question, and that’s the starting point for any serious investigation.

Depending on whether the semi-truck drifted over the center line or was trying to avoid something else, the legal questions change drastically. Was the truck driver distracted? Was there a mechanical failure? Did the van unexpectedly swerve into the truck’s path? As of now, none of that is clear, and each possibility points toward different responsible parties.

The first step in figuring out what happened is to secure electronic data from the truck. That includes the engine control module (or ECM), which records speed, braking and other key vehicle functions. If the truck had in-cab cameras, those may provide video of the driver’s behavior in the moments before the crash. Cell phone records could also tell us if the driver was distracted.

Beyond that, I’d want to know about the trucking company’s role. Did they properly train the driver? Was the driver’s history thoroughly reviewed before hiring? I’ve handled cases where companies put drivers behind the wheel who’d already been fired from multiple jobs, and accidents that followed weren’t so much surprises as inevitabilities. When a company fails to vet its employees, it may be just as responsible for a crash as the person driving.

It’s worth noting that the truck ended up in a ditch off the west side of the road, while the minivan was forced into the median. That positioning could matter, depending on how the collision unfolded. But until someone reconstructs the crash and examines the available evidence, we won’t know whether the truck swerved to avoid the van or whether it was the other way around.

Key Takeaways:

• It’s not yet clear why the semi-truck crossed the median; this is the central question that must be answered.
• Black box data, dash cams and phone records are critical tools for determining what the truck driver was doing before the crash.
• The trucking company’s hiring and training practices should also be scrutinized to see if they contributed to the incident.
• Vehicle positions after the crash raise further questions about who moved first and why.
• Real accountability only comes when all the evidence is gathered, examined and placed in context.