Tooele County, UT — August 11, 2025, three people were injured in a truck accident at about 8:30 p.m. on westbound Interstate 80/Lincoln Highway.

Authorities said a car veered onto the shoulder near mile marker 25 and crashed into a parked semi-truck.

Three people who were in the vehicle suffered unspecified injuries in the crash near Wendover, according to authorities. Their names have not been made public yet.

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

Commentary by Attorney Michael Grossman

When a report says a car “veered onto the shoulder” and hit a parked semi-truck, the easy assumption is that the car’s driver caused the crash. But that’s not the whole story. The fact that the truck was parked on the shoulder raises questions investigators have to answer before fault can be determined. Was the truck there because of a mechanical breakdown, or was it simply parked in a spot where stopping wasn’t necessary? Was it fully off the travel lane, and was it using hazard lights or reflective triangles to make it visible?

We also don’t yet know why the car went onto the shoulder. Was the driver distracted or avoiding another hazard in the roadway? Did the vehicle have a mechanical problem that caused it to drift? Each of those possibilities points to different evidence investigators will need to check.

Getting clarity here requires looking at more than the damaged vehicles. For the truck, that means downloading its electronic control module (ECM) data to confirm when and why it stopped, reviewing dashcam or in-cab camera footage and documenting any lighting or warning devices it had in place. For the car, cell phone records, mechanical inspections and any eyewitness accounts will be critical.

In past cases I’ve handled, a legally stopped truck still bore responsibility because it was positioned in a way that gave approaching drivers almost no time to avoid it, especially at highway speeds and at night. Other times, all the evidence showed that the parked truck played no role, and the cause was entirely in the actions of the moving driver. Without that full investigation, we’re just guessing.

Key Takeaways:

• The truck’s reason for stopping, location and visibility are central to determining responsibility.
• ECM data, dashcam footage and warning device documentation can show if the truck was properly secured.
• The car’s movement onto the shoulder could involve distraction, impairment, mechanical failure or evasive action.
• Fault can’t be determined until physical, digital and witness evidence are reviewed.
• Shoulder-parking collisions often involve more complexity than initial reports suggest.