Pollok, TX – Jason Charles Dubose was taken to the hospital following a collision involving a tractor-trailer truck in Angelina County on Tuesday, September 15th, 2015. The accident happened at 5:15 am.
From what we can tell, 57-year-old Delgado Euton Henry was driving 2007 Mack truck when he made a U-turn in the northbound lanes of US Highway 69 near Rifle Road. As the 18-wheeler was making the U-turn, a northbound 2007 Toyota pickup driven by 25-year-old Dubose, struck the side of the tractor-trailer. Dubose’s pickup then went under the trailer, through a fence, ultimately coming to rest in the ditch alongside the road.
Dubose was taken to East Texas Medical Center-Tyler for treatment of his injuries. Henry was not injured in the wreck.
This accident is still under investigation. There’s been no mention of excessive speed or distracted driving in relation to this accident.
Area Near the Accident
Commentary:
There’s a lot that’s unclear to me about this accident. I looked at this stretch of Highway and the shoulders on either side of the road don’t appear to be that wide. So if the 18-wheeler was making that turn on the highway, he likely blocked northbound and southbound lanes temporarily, which is not a smart move. I know it’s not always convenient to pull off the road and wait for a proper place to turnaround, but it looks like there is pull off right by where the accident happened. Maybe sources have the location wrong, it wouldn’t be the first time.
This accident happened in the early morning. So visibility is already going to be an issue. Imagine traveling along your normal morning commute and suddenly coming across a prone truck blocking your lane. There don’t seem to be many options aside from veering off the road or colliding with the vehicle in front of you. If I didn’t know any better, I’d say this 18-wheeler didn’t leave the man any choice but to hit the trailer.
But since we don’t have all the facts, I’ll give him the benefit of the doubt. Maybe the car was traveling at a high rate of speed and if they were traveling at the posted speed limit they might’ve been able to brake in time to avoid the collision. However, I will note that there’s no mention of speeding in the news reports.
Suffice it to say, this would be the reason we have investigators to look into all the details of what make up an accident. When there’s an accident that could’ve been avoided, people deserve to know what happened.
— Grossman Law Offices
