Van Buren County, TN — June 19, 2025, four people were injured in a truck accident at about 2:30 p.m. on State Route 111 at Cane Creek-Cummingsville Road.

Authorities said a semi-truck and an SUV were involved in a crash near the intersection north of Spencer.

Four people, including two who had to be extricated from the SUV, were flown to area hospitals with unspecified injuries, according to authorities.

Authorities have not released any additional information about the Van Buren County crash. The accident is still being investigated.

Commentary by Attorney Michael Grossman

When people hear that a semi-truck and an SUV collided on a Tennessee highway, injuring four people and requiring airlifts, the immediate reaction is often to wonder: What went wrong, and who's responsible? At this point, we don’t have enough details to draw conclusions, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t urgent questions that need answers.

For instance, did the truck run a red light or fail to yield? Was the SUV turning or stopped? Did either vehicle cross into the other’s path unexpectedly? These are basic questions, yet the initial reports don’t answer them. Without that clarity, we’re left with a vague picture of a serious wreck that left multiple people hospitalized, two of them trapped in their vehicle.

To get to the bottom of something like this, investigators have to move beyond the crash scene. They need to secure the truck’s black box data to determine the vehicle’s speed, braking and steering inputs before impact. If the truck was equipped with an in-cab camera, as many are today, that footage could shed light on what the driver saw and did. Cell phone records could rule out distraction. And depending on the company’s safety practices, there might be reason to look closely at driver hiring, training or scheduling policies to see if any corners were cut.

In one case I handled, the trucking company hired a driver with multiple prior firings and tested her skills with a 20-minute road exam. That kind of shortcut didn’t just endanger other drivers; it practically guaranteed something would go wrong. When we looked at the full chain of decisions, it was obvious the company’s policies had more to do with the crash than the driver herself.

Until we know what the evidence says about this crash, we can’t say who’s to blame. But we can say this: the truth will only come out if someone is asking the right questions and demanding the documentation that can answer them.

Key Takeaways:

• It's still unclear how the crash occurred or which vehicle may have caused it.
• Key evidence includes dash cam footage, ECM (black box) data and cell phone records.
• Company hiring and training practices often play a critical role and deserve scrutiny.
• Two victims had to be extricated, indicating potentially severe impact, but details remain scarce.
• An independent investigation is essential to determine who, if anyone, failed in their duty.