JACKSON COUNTY, Ore. — Two people died in a collision between a pickup truck and a parked semi on Interstate 5 Monday afternoon.
According to reports, a Ford F-150 pickup traveling northbound left its lane of travel and crashed into the trailer of a parked Volvo semi-truck. The commercial vehicle was occupied at the time by the truck driver.
The driver of the pickup, 69-year-old Michael Kasser, and his passenger, 68-year-old Linda Kasser, both from Issaquah, Washington, were pronounced dead at the scene.
Public roadways are not where trucks should be parked
What a tragedy that may have had a different outcome had there not been a parked semi-truck on the roadway. There is a reason Federal and state rules strictly govern when and where commercial truck drivers can park on roadsides. These rules exist because a parked semi-truck creates a danger to other motorists.
While accident reports often state that a driver who hits a parked semi-truck is at fault, my experience has shown that these cases warrant a deeper investigation to determine if the truck should have been on the side of the road in the first place.
We recently took on a tragic case involving the wrongful death of a public servant in a devastating crash on the Tomball Parkway. The deputy lost his life when his patrol vehicle collided with a tractor-trailer that was recklessly parked on the inside shoulder of the highway.
This accident was entirely preventable. The truck driver chose to stop in a dangerous location for non-emergency reasons, creating a deadly hazard. The trucking company failed to properly train and supervise its drivers, allowing unsafe practices that put lives at risk. Now, they are trying to avoid responsibility.
We are fighting to hold both the driver and the trucking company accountable for their negligence and to seek justice for the fallen deputy and his grieving family. No one should lose their life due to negligent decision-making by commercial drivers.
In another case, I represented a family whose loved one died after hitting a parked semi-truck. While authorities determined the deceased was responsible because he struck a stationary vehicle, our investigation determined that the truck should not have been there in the first place. When the grieving family reached out to us, we immediately focused on understanding why the truck driver had pulled over. We knew from experience that a truck driver’s reason for parking on the side of the road could reveal important details about responsibility for the accident.
In this case, the truck driver claimed he had pulled over due to a flat tire, which initially appeared to be a legitimate emergency. However, our investigation revealed that this “emergency” was entirely preventable. The tire had been under-inflated for months, gradually weakening its structure until failure was inevitable. This wasn’t a sudden emergency: it was the predictable result of the trucking company’s failure to maintain its vehicle properly. The company had ignored basic maintenance requirements, ultimately creating conditions that would force its driver to park in a dangerous location.
By investigating beyond the surface-level facts, we uncovered corporate negligence that contributed to this tragic loss of life. The family received not just compensation but answers about what really happened to their loved one.
These cases remind us that fault isn’t always clear at first glance. When truck drivers park on the side of the road, they put everyone’s safety at risk. They cannot deflect responsibility to others when their actions— or their company’s negligence— create a dangerous situation in the first place.
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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. Please inform us immediately if false or misleading information is contained in this post.
