Last Friday, a cellphone video hit social media showing a semi-truck slamming into and crushing a black SUV after what appears to be a heated road-rage clash in Pacoima. The alarming clip, which spread quickly online over the weekend, shows the SUV reduced to twisted metal and traffic frozen on a busy stretch of the Valley.
What the video appears to capture
According to KTLA, the crash happened on San Fernando Road near Paxton Street, just before the on-ramp to the 118 Freeway. KTLA’s review of the cellphone footage says the SUV repeatedly cuts in front of the semi before the truck slams into it and crushes the smaller vehicle.
Witness account and raw footage
The clip was shared with RMG News, and a witness who handed over the video told reporters the two vehicles had been locked in an ongoing confrontation for several miles before the impact. The witness said the SUV kept pulling in front of the semi, a detail that matches what is seen in the raw footage and in local reporting. As AOL notes, that version of events comes directly from the person who supplied the footage to RMG News.
What the police are saying
An LAPD spokesperson told KTLA the incident “appeared to be a family dispute,” and officers had not immediately said whether anyone would be cited or arrested. KTLA reported that it had requested additional information from the Los Angeles Police Department but did not receive an immediate update.
Why this should have every driver thinking twice
Traffic safety experts point out that cutting sharply in front of a tractor-trailer is especially dangerous because commercial trucks have large blind spots, often called “no-zones,” and need much more distance to slow or stop than smaller cars. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration FMCSA urges drivers to stay out of a truck’s no-zones and to give big rigs extra space when merging or passing, warning that those blind spots can make a car effectively disappear from a truck driver’s view.
