Brandy Thomas Killed in Accident with a Semi-truck that Failed to Stop at Red Light on Highway 171 in Stonewall, Louisiana

STONEWALL, La. — A Shreveport woman has died from injuries sustained in a collision after a commercial truck reportedly ran a red light and struck her vehicle on U.S. Highway 171.

Louisiana Authorities reported that 35-year-old Brandy Thomas passed away on Thursday at a local hospital, where she had been receiving treatment since the crash two days earlier.

Reports said Thomas was stopped at a red light in the right lane of Highway 171 when a 2015 Freightliner Cascadia traveling south on the highway failed to stop for the signal and hit her 2024 Nissan Altima.

Thomas was properly restrained at the time and was transported to a hospital with serious injuries.

Failure to Stop: Holding drivers and companies accountable after fatal crashes

All fatal traffic accidents bring sorrow, but some losses weigh especially heavy. This is one of them. A young woman doing everything right—stopped at the light, waiting her turn, wearing her seatbelt, and through no fault of her own—her life was taken.  During a week when most families gather to celebrate and make memories, her family is instead facing funeral arrangements and heartbreaking questions about how such a preventable collision could have even happened.

Why did this commercial truck driver run a red light? This is a question we have asked hundreds of times. We recently handled a similar case in Texas. The collision occurred when a tractor-trailer ran a red light at an intersection, causing a devastating impact with a Sedan. The driver of the passenger vehicle was tragically killed.

This tragedy was entirely preventable. The truck driver failed to obey the traffic signal, failed to maintain a proper lookout, and failed to brake in time to avoid the collision. The trucking company he worked for also failed. They failed to properly train, failed to supervise, and failed to enforce safety policies for their drivers, allowing these dangerous behaviors to happen. The driver and the trucking company attempted to avoid responsibility.

We pursued justice for that family to help bring accountability and to make sure no other family suffers the same preventable loss.

The surviving family of Ms. Thomas deserves the same level of accountability from those whose choices caused this tragedy. We hope they find the truth and the justice they deserve.

*******

The Ammons Law Firm represents clients nationwide in auto and truck accidents that result in serious injury or death.

Disclaimer: This post is not legal advice. Information contained in this blog was compiled from third-party sources or is the opinion of the author.