Seaford, DE — May 20, 2025, one person was injured in a truck accident at about 2:30 a.m. on southbound U.S. Route 13/Sussex Highway.

Authorities said two semi-trucks were involved in a crash near Middleford Road.

Emergency crews had to extricate one of the drivers from the truck, but the extent of the driver's injuries is not known at this time, according to authorities.

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

Commentary by Attorney Michael Grossman

When people hear about a crash involving two 18-wheelers, especially one that required emergency crews to extricate a driver from the wreckage, they understandably want to know: What happened here? Was someone asleep at the wheel? Did one of the trucks lose control or break down? Most importantly, how do we figure out who’s responsible?

Right now, the official details are few. Authorities have only said that two semi-trucks collided around 2:30 a.m. on southbound U.S. Route 13 near Middleford Road. One of the drivers was reportedly trapped and injured, but we don’t yet know how serious those injuries are. We also don’t know whether both trucks were moving at the time, whether either was stopped or stalled, or which one may have initiated the crash. These kinds of unanswered questions are exactly why proper investigation matters so much.

In two-truck crashes like this, the assumption might be that one driver was simply negligent. That might be true, but it’s not always the whole picture. What was each driver doing in the moments before impact? Did either truck cross out of its lane, or brake suddenly? Was fatigue, distraction or even a mechanical failure involved?

None of those questions can be answered without hard evidence. That includes:

• Black box (ECM) data that shows the truck's speed, braking and throttle position in the seconds before the crash.
• In-cab camera footage, if available, which could show driver behavior or what was happening on the road.
• Driver logs and cell phone records to determine whether either driver was distracted, fatigued or on the phone.
• Inspection and maintenance records to rule out brake failure, tire blowouts or other equipment issues.

Depending on the results of those reviews, responsibility could fall not just on a driver, but potentially on the trucking company itself. If the company failed to properly train or screen its drivers, or ignored maintenance issues, that could be a critical factor.

It’s also worth paying attention to when and where this crash happened. At 2:30 a.m., fatigue becomes a serious concern. That’s a time of night when a driver’s circadian rhythm is at its lowest, and it’s also when many long-haul drivers are pushing through the final hours of a shift. If either trucker had been on the road too long, or didn’t take required rest breaks, that could have contributed.

The fact that this happened on a U.S. highway with presumably open lanes raises further questions. Was there some obstruction or hazard in the road? Did one truck pull out in front of the other unexpectedly? Again, without a detailed crash scene analysis, we’re left guessing.

Key Takeaways

• It’s not yet clear how the crash between the two semi-trucks occurred or who was responsible.
• Investigators will need to examine black box data, camera footage, phone records and driver logs to piece together the facts.
• Fatigue may be a factor given the early morning hour of the crash.
• Determining fault in a two-truck collision often requires looking beyond driver error to the policies and oversight of the trucking companies involved.
• Until all the evidence is collected and reviewed, any conclusions about who’s to blame are premature.