Taylor County, FL — May 7, 2025, two people were injured in a truck accident at about 2 a.m. on U.S. Route 27 and James Bethea Road.

Authorities said a gas truck was headed west when it sideswiped an eastbound logging truck. The gas truck overturned in the road after the collision, while the logging truck continued, sideswiping a sedan and a pickup before it overturned as well.

The gas truck driver, a 52-year-old man from Perry, and the logging truck driver, a 67-year-old man from Greenville, were seriously injured in the crash, according to authorities. They were flown to a nearby hospital for treatment.

The other two drivers and a passenger in the pickup suffered minor injuries in the crash east of Perry, authorities said.

Authorities have not released any additional information about the Taylor County crash. The accident is still under investigation.

Commentary

When two commercial trucks collide head-on or sideswipe at highway speeds, especially at night, the legal questions quickly move beyond just who veered where. In my experience handling these cases, crashes like this one demand an immediate and thorough investigation into visibility, lighting and lane position, none of which can be reliably sorted out from crash debris alone.

Given that the crash occurred around 2 a.m., visibility becomes a central issue. Was the road properly lit? Were the trucks’ headlights and clearance markers working? Did either vehicle drift across the centerline, and if so, why? These aren't idle questions. They're the first steps in understanding whether the crash was due to driver fatigue, distraction or mechanical issues.

Because multiple vehicles were involved, it’s also essential to piece together the exact sequence of impacts. That typically requires ECM data, dashcam footage if available and an accurate reconstruction of vehicle positions based on tire marks and damage patterns. I’ve seen cases where the initial police narrative pointed in one direction, only for deeper analysis to show the responsibility lay elsewhere entirely.

Simply put, when commercial vehicles collide under these circumstances, there’s a lot more to figure out than which one ended up overturned in the road. The answers are out there, but they require more than just the official crash report to find.