Wise County, TX — October 13, 2025, two teens were killed and another child was injured in a truck accident at about 6:45 a.m. on U.S. Route 380 east of Decatur.

Authorities said a 2005 Freightliner semi-truck loaded with rocks hit a 1994 Ford F-140 that was crossing the highway on Private Road 4011, causing the truck to jackknife and overturn in the median. The pickup ended up on the south shoulder.

A 13-year-old boy who was riding in the pickup died at the scene of the crash, while the driver, a 16-year-old girl, died after being transported to a Denton hospital, according to authorities.

Another passenger, a 12-year-old girl, was taken to a Fort Worth hospital with unspecified injuries, authorities said.

The truck driver was treated for minor injuries, according to authorities.

Authorities have not released any additional information about the Wise County crash at this time. The accident is still under investigation.

Commentary

When people hear that a semi-truck loaded with rocks hit a pickup truck carrying three children, two of whom were killed, the immediate question is: How could this happen? It's an understandable reaction, especially since there's still very little public information about how the crash actually unfolded.

At this point, the basic facts leave more questions than answers. We know the pickup was crossing U.S. 380 from a private road, and the semi-truck was traveling along the highway when the two collided. But those details don’t explain much. Depending on whether the truck had the right of way or if the pickup failed to yield, entirely different legal issues would come into play. And even if the pickup did pull out in front of the truck, that still wouldn't automatically clear the truck driver of responsibility. I've handled plenty of cases where a truck had the right of way but still bore fault because the driver was speeding, distracted, or failed to react appropriately.

One thing that caught my attention was that the truck jackknifed and overturned in the median. That doesn’t happen in every crash. It could suggest the driver made a hard maneuver, perhaps swerving or braking aggressively. But without reviewing the truck’s black box data (the engine control module), it’s impossible to know how fast the truck was going, whether the brakes were applied or if any evasive action was taken.

It’s also worth asking whether this truck was overloaded or improperly loaded. A load of rocks is extremely heavy, and if it wasn’t balanced or secured properly, that could have contributed to the truck losing control. Did the cargo shift during the crash? Did that affect the driver’s ability to stop or steer? Those are serious technical questions that demand answers, and they’re not the sort of thing police accident reports typically address. They require an independent investigation and experts who know what to look for.

Another key question is what role the trucking company may have played. Was the driver properly trained to handle that type of load? Did the company do a thorough background check before putting him behind the wheel? I’ve seen companies hand out the keys to 80,000-pound vehicles after nothing more than a 20-minute road test. If corners were cut, that has to be brought to light.

Some folks might assume that this was just a terrible accident and nothing more. But experience has taught me that deadly crashes like this are almost never caused by a single mistake. More often, it's a chain of poor decisions by multiple people, some of which go back days, weeks or even months before the crash ever happens.

Key Takeaways:

• It's unclear who had the right of way at the time of the crash, which is critical to understanding liability.
• The semi-truck jackknifed and overturned, raising questions about speed, maneuvering and load stability.
• The truck’s black box, dash cams and cargo records could provide vital evidence about how the crash occurred.
• The trucking company’s training and hiring practices should be closely examined as part of a full investigation.
• Getting to the truth requires more than a police report, It takes a thorough, independent review of all available evidence.