Undefeated Dallas Truck Accident Lawyers
A violent crash involving two 18-wheelers left one person dead early Thursday morning along Interstate 35 in the Dallas area — one of the nation’s most dangerous trucking corridors.
Rear-End Tractor-Trailer Crash Among First Fatalities Reported in the Dallas Metroplex This Year
The crash occurred at approximately 4:52 a.m. on January 8th on I-35 northbound near Exit 297 in Temple, Texas — roughly 130 miles south of Dallas.
Preliminary reports indicate that one tractor-trailer rear-ended another as traffic was stopped from an earlier fatal crash involving two passenger vehicles. Emergency crews were already on scene when the 18-wheeler slammed into the rear of the first big rig, tragically killing one person at the scene. The victim’s identity has not yet been released.
A severely damaged passenger vehicle was also found just north of the collision, though details surrounding its involvement remain under investigation.
The crash shut down northbound I-35 for hours and caused extensive backups through Temple and into Belton, including delays on nearby Interstate 14.
Investigation Now Underway Into Deadly Crash
While the investigation remains ongoing, the early-morning timing, rear-end dynamics, and stopped-traffic conditions are consistent with patterns seen in fatigue or distraction cases that our firm has handled throughout the I-35 corridor.
FMCSA crash data repeatedly shows that fatigue-related truck wrecks occur at significantly higher rates between midnight and 6 a.m. — when drivers are naturally most prone to drowsiness and microsleep episodes.
But fatigue doesn’t happen in a vacuum. In our experience, it’s often the predictable result of reckless and preventable decisions by trucking companies and their drivers, including:
- Ignoring federal Hours-of-Service limits
- Concealing HOS violations
- Pressure to meet unrealistic delivery windows
- Improper scheduling that ignores sleep cycles and circadian troughs
- Untreated or undisclosed sleep apnea
- Distracted driving (cell phone use, in-cab technology, and dispatch communication)
- Stimulant use followed by sudden “crash” fatigue
- Failure to inspect or plan for stopped traffic conditions ahead
- Failure to brake or reduce speed for hazards already visible on the roadway
- Inexperienced or newly licensed drivers placed behind the wheel due to staffing shortages and high turnover
In our experience, these crashes are almost always entirely preventable — caused by a combination of carelessness, shortcuts, and deliberate policy choices that place profit and speed over the safety of everyone else on the road. There is nothing “accidental” about fatigue or distraction. They are failures, and they cost lives.
Interstate 35 Is One of the Nation’s Deadliest Highways for Truck Accidents
I-35 consistently ranks among the most dangerous freight highways in the U.S., with at least 9,400 truck crashes reported in Texas between 2021 and 2026, including 121 resulting in fatalities and 261 resulting in serious injuries, according to available TxDOT crash data. Heavy volumes of long-haul truck traffic move through Dallas and Fort Worth at all hours, making this corridor particularly perilous.
The DFW stretch has seen some of the state’s — and the nation’s — most devastating truck crashes in the past year alone, including the intoxicated Amazon truck driver who triggered a 17-vehicle pileup in March 2025 that left five dead, including two children.
Tragically, early reports suggest that the Dallas–Fort Worth segment of I-35 is not getting any safer, with the same preventable hazards — fatigue, distraction, inexperience, and corporate pressure — continuing to put families at risk.
Billions Won: Zehl & Associates Is Undefeated in Fatigue & Truck Accident Cases
When a truck driver is fatigued, distracted, or pushed to run past federal hours-of-service limits, the consequences are devastating — especially on high-speed corridors like I-35.
Our Truck Accident Lawyers have successfully represented hundreds of truck and 18-wheeler crash victims against the largest trucking companies in the world. We’ve recovered Billions for clients across Texas and the United States — including the largest truck and 18-wheeler verdicts and settlements in Texas history.
Recent results for Dallas truck accident clients include:
- #1 Largest Truck Accident Verdict in Texas (2024)
- $37.5 Million verdict for the family of a man tragically killed by a distracted Oncor Energy truck driver on I-635 in Dallas (2024)
- $35 million settlement in a fatal truck accident on I-35 near Dallas caused by a fatigued truck driver with untreated sleep apnea (2025)
We’ve never lost a case, and trucking companies know that we never settle for less than the maximum compensation our clients deserve.
Undefeated Texas Truck Accident Lawyers: 1-888-603-3636 for a Free Consultation
Our undefeated Temple Truck Accident Lawyers have recovered Billions for accident victims, including the largest 18-wheeler verdicts and settlements in Texas and U.S. history. We’re not like other law firms. We’ve never lost a case, and the companies we go up against know that we will never settle for less than the maximum compensation that you and your family deserve.
If you or a loved one were injured or tragically killed in a truck accident in Temple, contact us for a free consultation at 1-888-603-3636 or by sending a confidential email via our Contact Us page.
Our attorneys are ready to answer your questions, explain your rights, and provide you with the information you need to decide what’s best for you and your family.
All consultations are free, and you won’t pay a dime unless we win your case.