Box Elder County, UT — February 13, 2025, one person was killed in an afternoon truck accident on Interstate 15 near Pleasant View.

Authorities said a southbound passenger car crashed into the rear of a semi-truck for an unknown reason.

The driver of the car, a 64-year-old man whose name has not been made public yet, died in the crash, according to authorities.

Authorities have not released any additional information about the crash at this time. The accident remains under investigation.

Commentary

Rear-end collisions between passenger cars and semi-trucks often lead to the assumption that the driver in the back was at fault. While that may turn out to be true here, my experience tells me these crashes are rarely that simple. The key question isn’t just who hit whom, but why the crash happened in the first place.

One important factor to consider is visibility. Semi-trucks sit much higher than passenger cars, and if the truck was moving slowly or had recently merged, the car’s driver may not have had enough time to react. Investigators should check whether the truck’s taillights and reflectors were working properly. If the crash happened in an area with heavy traffic or low visibility, that could have contributed as well.

Speed is another major issue. The engine control module (ECM) data from the semi-truck should be reviewed to determine how fast it was traveling and whether it had slowed down before the crash. Investigators should also look into whether the car’s speed made it difficult to stop in time.

At this stage, there are more questions than answers. But if authorities only focus on the fact that one vehicle struck another from behind, they may miss critical details about visibility, vehicle movements and road conditions. A thorough investigation is needed to determine what really caused this crash and whether it could have been prevented.