Trucking news and briefs for Friday, Oct. 3, 2025:
- NTSB detailed probable cause of fatal 2023 truck-bus crash that killed six and injured dozens.
- Overnight lane closure planned on this Maryland route.
- “I stayed with him until the ambulance came.” -- James River Carriers truck driver John Bradley on his actions to earn Highway Angel recognition
NTSB pushes for forward collision warning, AEBs in fatal truck-bus crash investigation report
A fatal 2023 crash involving a tractor-trailer, a motorcoach carrying high school band students, and other vehicles in Ohio was the result of the involved truck driver’s “inattention and failure to respond, for unknown reasons, to the visibly slow-moving vehicles, including a motorcoach, at the end of a traffic queue caused by an earlier minor crash,” according to a final report released recently by the National Transportation Safety Board.
The crash occurred on Nov. 14, 2023, along I-70 near Etna, Ohio, when a 2019 Freightliner Cascadia and 2017 Strickland tractor-trailer combination, operated by Mid-State Systems Inc., came upon slowed traffic caused by an earlier minor crash. The truck did not slow down and crashed into the line of traffic, causing a chain-reaction collision and a post-crash fire that involved five vehicles including two passenger vehicles, a motorcoach, and a second tractor-trailer.
NTSB added that immediately before the crash, the tractor-trailer that caused the crash was traveling about 72 mph, and the other four vehicles were traveling between 3 and 15 mph.
As a result of the crash, three motorcoach passengers and three passenger vehicle occupants were fatally injured. The driver and two passengers of the motorcoach, as well as the driver of a passenger vehicle, were seriously injured. The driver of the Freightliner and 36 motorcoach passengers sustained minor injuries.
The aerial view of the crash scene shows where the vehicles involved in the crash came to rest.NTSB
NTSB’s investigation found that “salient cues, in the form of slowing traffic in both lanes and illuminated brake lights, were present at the end of the traffic queue to inform the truck driver of the need to slow his vehicle.” The driver, however, took no evasive action “consistent with being inattentive to the forward roadway, but the reason for his inattention was unknown.”
In addition to the primary probably cause of the crash being the truck driver’s inattention, other contributing factors included a lack of an in-cab driver monitoring system to return the driver’s attention to the road, among others.
As a result of the investigation, NTSB issued a number of recommendations to federal agencies, trucking organizations and others to improve highway safety.
Among recommendations that could, if implemented, affect truck drivers and the trucking industry include one for the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to require driver monitoring systems that detect risky driving behavior, including but not limited to driver inattention, and that provide instantaneous feedback that communicates to the driver through multimodal signaling of the need to bring attention back to the driving task.
Another recommendation issued to the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association, American Trucking Associations, International Brotherhood of Teamsters and others was to promote to their members the potential safety benefits of in-cab alert technology to encourage owner-operators and carriers to use these systems. These groups were also recommended to promote the benefits of collision avoidance technologies including forward collision warning (FCW), automatic emergency braking (AEB), and driver monitoring systems, along with the risks associated with opting out of these technologies.
NTSB also reiterated previously-issued recommendations to NHTSA to complete the development and application of performance standards for the assessment of forward collision avoidance systems in commercial vehicles, and to revise Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 302 to adopt the more rigorous performance standards for interior flammability and smoke emissions characteristics already in use for commercial aviation and rail.
[Related: NTSB releases details around fatal I-70 crash between truck, bus]
Maryland installing truck speed warning sign along I-68
The Maryland Department of Transportation State Highway Administration will install a new overhead sign that alerts commercial truck drivers of speeds before the steep mountain incline over eastbound I-68 near Frostburg in Allegany County.
The overhead electronic sign will be installed starting Monday, Oct. 6 at 4 p.m. Drivers in the area can expect a left-lane closure on eastbound I-68 near MD 36 (New Georges Creek Road) to the Clarysville Bridge. The work is expected to be completed by 6 a.m. Tuesday, Oct. 7, weather permitting.
Contractor McLean Contracting Company of Glen Burnie will use the left-lane closure to shift traffic to the right with Maryland State Police guiding traffic through the work zone while sign installation is underway. Crews will also use signs, construction barrels and cones.
Driver named Highway Angel for helping fellow trucker during medical emergency
The Truckload Carriers Association (TCA) has named James River Carriers truck driver John Bradley a Highway Angel for his quick thinking and selfless actions during a roadside emergency.
John Bradley
“I called 911,” Bradley said. “I couldn’t leave him because I knew something was wrong.”
Without hesitation, Bradley ran toward the truck, blocked traffic to prevent a potential collision, and climbed inside to bring the vehicle to a stop. He then ensured the driver received urgent medical assistance. The driver had suffered a medical emergency. As it turned out, Bradley found out that the driver’s blood sugar was off that day.
“I’m glad he was alright,” says Bradley. “I stayed with him until the ambulance came.”
