Oversized Cargo Accidents Bridge & Lane Intrusions

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When a Truck’s Load Crosses the Line, Lives Are Shattered. Who is Liable?

When an 18-wheeler carries oversized equipment, long pipes, or heavy machinery that swings, shifts, or extends past the trailer’s edge, a deadly crash can happen in an instant. A single miscalculation—turning too sharply, skipping escort vehicles, or failing to tie down the load—can send thousands of pounds of steel directly into oncoming traffic. Whether it happens on a narrow rural bridge, a two-lane oilfield road, or during a left turn in town, these crashes often cause fatal or catastrophic injuries.

Attorney David P. Willis is a Board-Certified Personal Injury Trial Lawyer (Texas Board of Legal Specialization, since 1988), former Supreme Court of Texas attorney, and nationally known for handling catastrophic injury cases, truck rollovers, truck cargo load injuries and other truck accident injury cases. With over 40 years of experience, he knows how to trace liability from the truck cab to the broker, the shipper, the loader—and everyone in between. If you need an aggressive truck accident attorney in your corner, call us to get started

Don’t Let Valuable Evidence Disappear – Call Us 24/7 at 1-888-LAW-2040

Why Oversized Load Truck Accidents Are So Dangerous

Oversized load crashes are d ifferent from typical wrecks. These collisions often involve:

Equipment extending too far in wide turns
Long pipes or beams that shift outward during transit
Heavy machinery sticking into the opposite lane
Trucks crossing narrow bridges with wide loads that extend over into oncoming lanes
Trucks traveling without escort vehicles, by occupying multiple lanes

These incidents happen frequently throughout the USA, especially in heavy truck routes of West Texas, New Mexico, and many rural oilfield areas where outdated and narrow roads meet modern mammoth industrial transport and equipment.

Common Causes of Oversized Load & Overhang Crashes

Here are the top reasons these devastating wrecks occur:

1. Poor Route Planning

Trucking companies are required to pre-plan oversized hauls with route surveys, bridge measurements, and traffic mitigation. When they skip these steps or rely on GPS alone, the result is tragedy.

2. Load Shift or Poor Securement

A piece of machinery that looks secure can shift outward on a curve. Unbalanced loading, loose chains, or overloaded trailers can allow equipment to shift, swing or slide into other lanes.

3. Wide Turns in Intersections

Trucks hauling extra-long or extra wide / side-loaded cargo may swing wide on turns—often into oncoming traffic. Without flaggers or escorts, other drivers may not see the danger until it’s too late.

4. Lack of Escort or Pilot Cars

Oversized loads often require pilot vehicles or police escorts—especially on one and two-lane roads. When companies skip this step, nearby drivers pay the price.

5. Bridge Width and Road Design

Some bridges and roads simply aren’t wide enough. Without signage, barriers, or closures, a wide load can legally enter a space it cannot safely navigate and collide with oncoming traffic.

7. Pipe Trailers and Oilfield Equipment

Pipe trailers, drilling rigs, logs, and compressor units are often improperly secured, with no flagging, lights or warnings, leaves little margin for error. A bump or tight turn can force the load into the next lane or a sudden truck rollover.

Deadly Consequences of Oversized and Improperly Loaded Trucks

Oversized or improperly loaded trucks have caused devastating crashes across the U.S., often with fatal results.

In Temple, Texas (April 27, 2024), a 350,000-pound load detached from a truck on State Highway 36, crushing a Ford F-150 and killing two passengers.
In Colorado (March 2022), a semi hauling an excavator struck a bridge; the falling machinery hit a car below, killing a woman and sparking investigations into the driver’s expired medical clearance.
In Sealy, Texas (July 7, 2016), a dump truck with a raised boom hit a U.S. 90 overpass. Debris fell onto a passing car, killing 12-year-old Dulce Maria Bandera and injuring her mother. Each of these incidents underscores the lethal risk when drivers fail to secure equipment or misjudge bridge clearance.

These types of tragedies could have been prevented with proper route planning, qualified escort vehicles, and regulatory compliance. Not only is an escort vehicle needed to warn approaching vehicles from behind, the driver of the escort also is there to warn the truck driver in cases where the cargo has shifted, load is too wide or tall, binders, chains or rachet straps are loose, booms have raised, or cargo is going to fall off. When heavy cargo crosses the line or falls off, the cost is too often measured in human lives and life altering injuries

Who May Be Legally Responsible?

These cases often involve multiple defendants. Our team investigates all parties:

The Truck Driver

Liable if they failed to inspect the load, took an unsafe route, or ignored clearance limits.

The Trucking Company

Responsible for permits, route planning, providing escort vehicles, and ensuring compliance with FMCSA regulations.

The Shipper or Broker

If they selected the route, failed to warn of oversized cargo, or contracted a carrier unqualified to haul the load.

The Loader or Equipment Owner

Contractors, oilfield companies, or loading crews may be at fault if cargo extended illegally or was not properly centered.

Government Entity or Road Authority

If a narrow bridge or road lacked signage, failed to warn of width restrictions, or was known to be hazardous, local or state agencies may share liability.

Road Contractor or Road Construction Companies

If the lane was too narrow in a construction zone and a collision occurs, the road contractor may be liable.

Extended Cargo Injuries Are Often Severe or Fatal

Head-on crashes with overhanging cargo at highway speeds are killers. These types of crashes often result in catastrophic injuries. Common outcomes include:

Decapitation or blunt-force head trauma
Spinal cord injuries and paralysis
Crushing injuries and internal organ damage
Burns from post-impact fires
Wrongful death of driver and passengers

Even when survivors live, the road ahead often includes multiple surgeries, long-term disability, permanent injuries and loss of income.

Legal Strategy: How We Investigate Wide Load Wrecks

At the Willis Law Firm, we act immediately to preserve evidence and expose the chain of responsibility:

Immediately hire accident investigators to take witness statements, talk to wrecker crews and investigating officers.
File spoliation letters to freeze GPS, dashcam, and cargo inspection logs
Demand route maps, bridge clearance documents, and pilot vehicle plans
Subpoena broker-shipping agreements to uncover who arranged the haul
Use TROs (Temporary Restraining Orders) to prevent load modification
Retain oversized load experts and accident reconstructionists
File a truck accident lawsuit to help secure the evidence and start the needed discovery to hold the negligent parties responsible.

We know these are not “normal” car accident cases. They require aggressive litigation, forensic investigation, and a lawyer who’s not afraid to face down multiple commercial defendants.

Why 40+ Years Experience and Board Certification Matter

Attorney David P. Willis is one of a select few Board-Certified Personal Injury Trial Lawyers in Texas. In fact, less than 2% of the lawyers in Texas are Board Certified in Personal Injury Trial Law. With over 40 years of experience and a background as a former Supreme Court of Texas attorney, he brings unmatched legal skill to high-stakes trucking crash litigation.

Contact an experienced truck crash lawyer immediately
Do not allow the vehicle or trailer to be repaired or moved
Avoid making any statements to insurance or trucking companies
Preserve all photos, witness names, and tow records
Get a free legal review to determine who may be liable

Free Case Review – No Fee Unless We Win

At Willis Firm, we help families across the country recover after devastating injuries from defective products, truck rollovers and truck crashes. We fight aggressively to uncover every liable party and pursue the maximum compensation available under the law. You pay nothing unless we win. Let our legal team of truck accident attorneys investigate the route, preserve the evidence, the cargo, the hold the responsible companies involved liable—and fight to get your life back on track.

Talk to a Truck Crash Lawyer Today – 1-888-LAW-2040