Deschutes County, OR — November 24, 2025, William Carter and Jennifer Lower were killed in a truck accident at about 9:30 p.m. on U.S. Highway 20/Central Oregon Highway.

Authorities said a semi-truck jackknifed across the highway near mile marker 51 when it was hit by a westbound Subaru Outback.

Subaru driver William Micah Carter, 25, and passenger Jennifer Lynn Lower, 24, died at the scene of the crash east of Brothers, according to authorities.

The truck driver, who was not injured, was charged with two counts of first-degree manslaughter because he failed to put out emergency warning equipment before the crash, authorities said.

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

Commentary by Attorney Michael Grossman

When a commercial truck ends up blocking the road and two people lose their lives as a result, most folks are left asking one thing: How could something like that happen? The initial reports say the truck jackknifed and was stretched across the highway when it was hit by a westbound car. That already raises some red flags, but what stands out even more is that the truck driver has been charged with manslaughter, specifically for not putting out emergency warning equipment before the crash.

Now, that charge tells us at least one thing: Authorities believe the crash wasn’t just an unfortunate accident. It suggests there was enough time between the truck jackknifing and the Subaru arriving on the scene that the driver should have taken steps to warn oncoming traffic. That raises a lot of unanswered questions: How long was the truck sitting there before the crash? Was it disabled, or had it just come to rest moments before impact? What kind of lighting or visibility conditions were in play at 9:30 p.m. on a rural stretch of U.S. 20?

Depending on those answers, the legal picture changes. If the truck had just jackknifed seconds earlier, the driver may not have had time to react. But if minutes passed and no flares, triangles or hazard lights were used, that’s a serious failure; one I’ve seen courts treat very harshly. Commercial drivers are trained and required under federal law to deploy emergency warning devices within minutes of stopping in a travel lane or on the shoulder of a highway. That requirement exists precisely to prevent this kind of outcome.

Of course, the charges only reflect one part of the puzzle. We still don’t know why the truck jackknifed in the first place. Was the driver speeding? Did road conditions play a role? Was the trailer properly loaded and balanced? Or did the driver swerve or brake abruptly for something up ahead? These are not idle curiosities; they're critical questions that can be answered with data. Things like black box (engine control module) downloads, dash camera footage and even the driver’s phone records could shed light on what led up to the loss of control.

It’s also worth considering what kind of oversight was, or wasn’t, in place. Was the driver operating under fatigue? Did they have a history of driving incidents? Were they properly trained to handle emergency situations? In my experience, when we dig into these cases, we often find that the driver isn't the only one who made poor decisions. Sometimes, it's the employer who cut corners, failed to train properly or ignored red flags during the hiring process.

The key to understanding what happened here, and whether the charges truly reflect the driver’s responsibility, is a thorough, independent investigation. That includes reconstructing the timeline, examining physical evidence and pulling every shred of available data from the truck and the scene.

Key Takeaways:

• The manslaughter charges suggest authorities believe the truck driver failed to warn oncoming traffic after jackknifing, but key facts, like how long the truck was stopped, remain unknown.
• It’s not yet clear why the truck jackknifed; that question is central to determining fault and requires reviewing black box data, driver behavior and load conditions.
• Emergency warning devices are legally required when trucks are stopped on the roadway, and failure to use them can have deadly consequences.
• A full investigation must look beyond the crash scene to evaluate the trucking company's training, hiring and oversight practices.
• Real accountability depends on evidence, not assumptions, especially when lives have been lost and legal charges are on the table.