Springfield, MO — January 29, 2026, Wesley Osborne was killed in a truck accident at about 1:15 a.m. on Interstate 44/U.S. Route 66.

Authorities said a westbound 2017 Freightliner semi-truck hit a pedestrian near the exit for U.S. Highway 65.

The pedestrian, 48-year-old Springfield resident Wesley Osborne, was pronounced dead at the scene of the crash, according to authorities.

No other injuries were reported.

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

Commentary by Attorney Michael Grossman

When people hear about a fatal crash involving a pedestrian and an 18-wheeler on a major highway in the middle of the night, the first question that usually comes to mind is, “How does something like that happen?” Most folks assume highways are no place for pedestrians, so if someone ends up getting hit by a semi, there must be more to the story. And they’re right to wonder.

At this point, we know that a westbound semi hit a pedestrian near the Highway 65 exit in Springfield around 1:15 a.m. What we don’t know is just about everything else that would help us understand why.

Was the pedestrian already in the roadway? If so, why? Was the truck driver speeding, distracted or fatigued? Did the truck have a working dash cam? What does the truck’s engine control module say about its speed and braking in the moments before impact?

Depending on where the pedestrian was — on the shoulder, in a travel lane or trying to cross the highway — very different questions arise. For example, if the pedestrian had broken down and was walking to get help, that paints one picture. If he was disoriented or experiencing a medical issue, that’s another. The point is, we don’t know yet, and that’s not a detail that should be filled in by guesswork or assumptions.

On the other side of the equation, we also don’t know anything about the truck driver’s actions or condition at the time of the crash. Was the driver using a cell phone? Were they properly rested, or had they been driving past their hours-of-service limit? Did the trucking company even vet this driver properly before putting them behind the wheel of an 80,000-pound vehicle?

These aren’t hypothetical concerns. I’ve worked on cases where trucking companies hired drivers with spotty records and barely tested them before handing over the keys. In one instance, a driver had been fired multiple times before being hired by a company that “evaluated” her with a 20-minute test drive. That company’s decision-making became a central issue in the case, not just the crash itself.

We may find that the driver in this case did everything right. Or we may find that both the driver's actions and the company's hiring or training policies contributed to the crash. But none of that can be determined without a thorough investigation and access to the evidence that tells the story: dash cam footage, ECM data, cell phone records and company safety logs.

Key Takeaways:

• It’s not clear what the pedestrian was doing on the highway or why.
• The driver’s actions and level of alertness at the time remain unknown.
• Critical evidence like dash cam footage and ECM data can help answer what happened.
• A thorough investigation should include a look at the trucking company’s hiring and oversight practices.
• Without these facts, any conclusions about blame are premature.