Most Common Types of Fatal Semi-Truck Accidents

 Posted on November 21, 2025 in Truck Accidents

Semi-trucks weigh up to 80,000 pounds when fully loaded, while a typical passenger car weighs about 4,000 pounds. When these vehicles collide, the people in the car often face catastrophic injuries or death. The sheer size and weight difference makes survival difficult in many truck accidents.

If you lost a loved one in a truck crash, knowing how these accidents happen and who may be held responsible can make your options clearer. Our Dallas County truck accident lawyer will discuss your case with you in a no-pressure consultation so you can decide what to do next.

What Types of Truck Accidents Most Often Cause Fatal Injuries?

Any accident between a truck and passenger vehicles, bicycle riders, or pedestrians can cause fatalities. However, certain types of accidents are more likely to be fatal than others. 

Underride Accidents

Underride accidents are among the most deadly types of truck crashes. These happen when a passenger vehicle slides underneath a semi-truck's trailer. The top of the car gets sheared off, and people inside suffer devastating head and chest injuries. Many underride accidents are instantly fatal.

Jackknife Accidents

Jackknife accidents happen when a truck's trailer swings out to the side and forms a V-shape with the cab. The truck becomes a moving wall that blocks multiple lanes of traffic.  These accidents typically happen when truck drivers brake too hard on wet or icy roads. The trailer wheels lock up and slide sideways. The momentum carries the trailer around while the cab tries to keep going straight. Once a truck starts to jackknife, the driver often cannot regain control.

Rollover Accidents

Truck rollover accidents often kill occupants of both the truck and nearby vehicles. When a semi-truck rolls over, it can crush anything in its path, which may include several lanes of traffic on Texas highways.

Trucks often roll over when drivers take curves or highway ramps too fast. The high center of gravity on loaded trailers makes them unstable during turns; cargo that shifts during turns can cause rollovers as well. Tire blowouts can also cause trucks to lose control and roll.

Head-On Collisions

Head-on collisions between trucks and passenger vehicles almost always kill the people in the car. Airbags and crumple zones cannot absorb that much force, and victims suffer fatal head injuries, chest trauma, and internal bleeding. Many victims die at the scene.

These accidents happen when truck drivers fall asleep at the wheel and drift into oncoming traffic. Distracted driving also causes trucks to cross center lines, and some truck drivers even drive impaired by drugs or alcohol. 

Wide Turn Accidents

Semi-trucks need extra space to make right turns. Drivers often swing left first to make room for the trailer to clear the corner. Cars beside or behind the truck get caught in the turn and crushed between the trailer and curb or other vehicles.

These accidents kill pedestrians, cyclists, and people in cars who do not realize the truck is turning. The truck driver might not see smaller vehicles in their blind spots, and by the time anyone realizes what is happening, it is too late to avoid the collision.

Call a Dallas County, TX Truck Accident Lawyer Today

Our Dallas, TX truck accident attorney understands the pain your family is experiencing and will fight aggressively to hold negligent trucking companies accountable. You have two years under Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code § 16.003 to file a wrongful death claim, but the sooner you meet with us, the sooner we can start working on getting you the compensation you need.

Contact Jerry D. Andrews, P.C. at 214-221-5800 for a free consultation about your truck accident case. Our staff speaks Spanish fluently, and we work on a contingency fee basis, which means you pay nothing unless we recover compensation for you.