LORENA, Texas—Dwaine Bolin, 23, and another unidentified individual were killed in a crash involving one pickup and two semi-trucks on August 22, 2022. The accident occurred around 3:45 a.m. on Interstate 35 between exits 324 and 325 outside Lorena, Texas.
According to police reports, Bolin and a passenger in a pickup truck were involved in a collision with two other semi-trucks. After the collision, the pickup was reported to have caught fire on the side of the road. Bolin and the other passenger were killed as a result of the accident.
Two individuals in one of the semi-trucks were taken to a local hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. The driver of the other big rig was uninjured in the crash.
No further details about the crash were immediately available. The crash remains under investigation.
Thoughts on the multi-truck accident in Lorena, Texas
Without knowing more about this crash, it is nearly impossible to determine who may have been at fault in the accident. Some may assume that drivers of passenger vehicles, including pickup trucks, have more culpability in accidents with semi-trucks since truck drivers are subjected to more training and more stringent driving rules. However, that is not always the case. Semi-truck drivers are often negligent, and commercial trucking companies may share in the liability of injuries or deaths caused by their drivers.
For instance, some semi-trucks are now equipped with lane assistance technology to help drivers avoid accidents. Unfortunately, lane assistance technology is imperfect and may result in a semi-truck exiting its lane or veering off-course. If either of the semi-truck drivers involved in this tragic accident were improperly relying on lane assistance technology in the moments before this crash, and the technology then failed, that dependence may explain this avoidable accident.
Additionally, if either of the semi-drivers had any wrongdoing in this crash, their trucking company may be responsible for their negligence under the legal doctrine of “respondeat superior.” To avoid negligence claims altogether, trucking companies should strive to ensure all their drivers are adequately trained and equipped with the tools necessary to prevent and avoid accidents on the roadways. Failing to do so may subject the trucking company to direct liability and liability for their driver’s actions through respondeat superior.
Although we do not know whether driver inattentiveness or the use of any sort of technology was a contributing factor to the crash that killed Bolin and one other, the family of the decedent and surviving victim should have access to all information in determining the cause of this crash, even that information which may expand the scope of potential litigation to one or more of the trucking companies. Each party will likely need a skilled attorney experienced in cases involving semi-truck crashes to parse out the information necessary to pursue justice in this case.
Our firm is one of the top firms in Texas and will ensure the families of the deceased receive every dollar of compensation they are entitled to under the laws of Texas. When someone is killed by another’s negligence, the deceased’s family deserves justice.
We offer our deepest condolences to the families of the deceased and pray for a quick and complete recovery of those injured in this crash.
