Police are still investigating an incident involving a trucking trainer and his trainee failing to call 911 after a fatal wreck with a Jeep late last year.
The accident happened early on November 5th, 2024, but California Highway Patrol did not release information on the incident until early in 2025. The crash occurred on Hageman Road near Martin Avenue in Bakersfield, California.
According to KGET, the Jeep was traveling eastbound on Hageman Road when it veered into the opposite lane, right in front of the oncoming semi truck. The Jeep then struck one of the axles on the semi truck before veering off the roadway and flipping. The car then reportedly caught fire, and 75-year-old motorist Samuel Reed Gray died in the incident.
The truck driver and his trainee stopped for the wreck for about 12 minutes without calling 911. During that time, the truck driver notified his “safety advisor” about the crash, but did not mention that the motorist had died in the incident.
The trainee took photos of the crash scene, but later told officers that he did not argue when his trucking trainer told him they were leaving. About 40 minutes and five miles after leaving the scene of the crash, the truck driver finally called 911.
In the call to 911, the driver mentioned that the Jeep driver was “burned to a crisp.” When the dispatcher asked the truck driver to return to the scene, he told them that he could not because he had run out of gas looking for a safe place to stop.
California Highway Patrol officers later found the semi truck five miles away from the crash scene. The truck driver and his trainee have not been named because formal charges are yet to be filed against them.
Investigators say that the trainee may also be liable for the accident because “in leaving the scene he aided (the driver) in hiding their involvement with the crash.”