ANDERSON COUNTY, South Carolina — A 28-year-old Anderson man died Wednesday morning after his vehicle collided with a tractor-trailer parked. The incident happened near the entrance to a southbound rest area on Interstate 85.
The man was identified as Elijah Anthony Dubose.
According to authorities, Dubose was driving a 2010 Honda Accord when the vehicle traveled off the right side of the interstate and struck the rear of a tractor-trailer that was allegedly parked illegally near the ramp area.
Authorities stated the driver of the semi-truck was not inside the vehicle at the time of the collision.
Dubose suffered multiple traumatic injuries and was pronounced dead at the scene.
Public roadways are not where trucks should be parked or stopped
This is a tragic incident, and our thoughts are with this young man’s family. I know right now all eyes will be on the passenger vehicle driver. But these cases are often more complicated than they appear. Having handled cases like this one for years, I have an additional concern: What was a semi-truck doing parked on the shoulder of a highway?
Semi-trucks should never be parked near busy ramp areas, yet they continue to do so. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) reported 4,000 injury crashes involving big rigs near interstate entrance and exit ramps, 55 of those crashes fatal, in 2020. That number is too high.
We recently 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 who was responsible for the accident.
In this case, a man died when his car hit a semi-truck parked on the left shoulder of a busy highway. The truck driver admitted he had stopped to use the restroom, parking dangerously close to traffic. This careless decision took an innocent life.
In another case we handled, 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.
There are still many unanswered questions about this incident involving Mr. Dubose. His surviving family deserves to demand answers.
May all the facts surrounding this incident come to light soon.
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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.
