When catastrophe happens, victims are often left with questions. After her son Isaiah was killed in a truck wreck, Celeste Bowens-Martin came to Craig, Kelley & Faultless seeking answers for what caused her son’s crash. Investigation done by the firm found that if the truck that hit Isaiah had been fitted with collision mitigation systems, like automatic emergency braking, his vehicle may not have been hit. Now, Celeste shares Isaiah’s story to bring awareness to the lack of this safety technology in commercial motor vehicles.
Although many passenger vehicles are equipped with accident prevention systems and all new cars will be required in September 2029 to have automatic emergency braking (AEB) installed. This technology has been available for large trucks for almost 20 years, but failure to mandate their installation has resulted in thousands of preventable crashes. Unfortunately, a deadline for installing this life-saving technology for vehicles weighing above 10,000 pounds has not been set.
The Cause of Isaiah’s Wreck
In March 2025, Isaiah was driving home from Illinois to his mother in Indianapolis. He was traveling on I-74 in the early hours of the morning when majority of the vehicles on the road were commercial trucks. During his drive, he crossed the road’s median and into the opposite lane of travel. Once he was in the opposite lane of travel, his car came to a complete stop, and he was sitting on the roadway. While we will never know the exact circumstances leading up to the wreck, we do know that once Isaiah’s vehicle was sitting on the opposite side of the road, he was hit by a 2024 Freightliner and killed.
Newer semi-trucks and other heavy trucks are built with collision mitigation systems equipped; this technology consists of safety features like perimeter cameras on trucks, blind spot detectors, AEB, lane assist, and more. These systems work to detect objects or obstacles in the road and prevent accidents from happening. Once an obstacle is detected, the vehicle will warn the driver, and if the driver doesn’t react then the truck will stop on its own. But the truck that killed Isaiah did not have this technology equipped, meaning there were no measures in place to detect Isaiah’s vehicle before it was too late.
Refusal to Install Collision Mitigation Systems
The installation of collision mitigation systems in trucks has been proven to prevent up to 63,000 truck accidents each year. Trucks weighing at least 33,000 pounds that have forward collision warning installed were involved in 22% fewer wrecks, and those equipped with AEB were in 12% fewer crashes. For rear-end crashes specifically, forward collision warning reduced wrecks by 44% and AEB lowered them by 41%. Yet, many trucks currently on the roads do not have this equipment installed despite the trucks’ compatibility with these systems.
Some motor carriers argue that it is too expensive to equip their trucks with this technology, but in reality the cost is minimal and worth the benefit. Manufacturers spend around $200 to install these systems into new trucks, but they mark up the price of this equipment by over 600%. This ultimately results in Truck Collision Avoidance systems costing between $2,500 and $4,000 per truck, according to the Intelligent Transportation Systems Join Program Office. The trucking companies that prioritize profits over safety believe it is more cost-effective to have the manufacturer delete the vehicle’s collision mitigation system to decrease the truck’s price.
Although vehicle manufacturers in the U.S. will be required to install AEB in all passenger cars and light trucks beginning in 2029, this rule omits heavy trucks like semi tractor-trailers. The longer our government waits to mandate these devices on all commercial motor vehicles, the number of preventable truck wrecks will continue to rise. If these devices were already mandated, Isaiah might still be alive today.
“Every company, bus company, truck company, box trucks, anything that drives commercial needs to have that on their vehicle because I don’t want nobody sitting here and having to go through this because this is hard,” Celeste said. “This is hard. I could just see him sitting in the car. You coming head on to him. His phone [was] the one [that] dialed 9-1-1, so he was alert. He was [awake] when he got hit. And to just imagine your child sitting there… even though he was a grown man, he was still mine.”
After the Crash Podcast: A Legal Resource for Truck Wreck Victims
After the Crash is currently ranked No. 4 in personal injury podcasts on FeedSpot. It is the highest-ranked podcast focusing on personal injury resulting from commercial vehicle and truck wrecks.
The podcast was launched over five years ago, in the fall of 2020, by attorney David W. Craig. It educates and empowers listeners in a digestible format. It is primarily aimed at the victims and the families of victims of semi or other large truck accidents.
It is David’s goal to equip listeners with the knowledge necessary to navigate this tough time in their lives. Anyone — truck wreck survivors, legal professionals, healthcare workers, and anyone in between — can tune into After the Crash for free.
A new episode is released monthly, featuring a guest with an important perspective. In each episode, David interviews individuals involved in commercial motor vehicle cases, or experts whose skills are crucial to understanding trucking cases.
Episodes are posted on YouTube, Spotify, Amazon and Apple Podcasts, and the Craig, Kelley & Faultless website.
Get to Know the Guest: Turning Loss Into Advocacy
Celeste Bowens-Martin is a former client of Craig, Kelley & Faultless. She hired the firm for a wrongful death case after her son, Isaiah, was killed in a wreck involving a commercial motor vehicle in March 2025. She also has a commercial driver’s license and works as a professional bus driver, providing her with insight into what it’s like to be a driver in the industry. After losing her son, Celeste has chosen to become an advocate for collision mitigation systems in commercial vehicles, which could have prevented the accident that killed her son.
Watch her appearance on episode 90 of After the Crash on YouTube.
Injured After a Truck Wreck? Craig, Kelley & Faultless Can Help
Attorneys at Craig, Kelley & Faultless are prepared and have the experience to help victims and their loved ones involved in commercial vehicle wrecks through every aspect of their case. Both attorneys David W. Craig and Scott A. Faultless are board-certified in truck accident law by the NBTA, accredited by the American Bar Association. The firm also has a rapid response team that works with investigators, reconstructionists and mechanics who immediately collect evidence as soon as the firm is hired. Additionally, two of the firm’s litigation paralegals are board-certified in truck accident law by the Academy of Truck Accident Attorneys. As David has said, “We don’t just handle truck accident cases. We specialize in these cases.”
Their team-centered approach puts client needs at the forefront, and several attorneys will work on your case to achieve the best possible outcome.
Reach out for a free case consultation today at (888) 253-5198 or online.
David W. Craig is board-certified by the National Board of Trial Advocacy, accredited by the American Bar Association in Truck Accident Law. He sits on the Board of Regents of the Academy of Truck Accident Attorneys (which requires the board certification in truck accident law). He is the managing partner and one of the founding partners of Craig, Kelley & Faultless LLC. He is recognized as a Top 10 Trucking Trial Lawyer and Top 100 Trial Lawyer in Indiana by the National Trial Lawyers, as well as a Top 50 Indiana lawyer by Super Lawyers. David is the author of Semitruck Wreck, A Guide for Victims and Their Families and It’s Never Been Easier to Hire the Wrong Attorney, both written to help people navigate what comes next after a tragic wreck. He also hosts the podcast After the Crash, where you can gain valuable information about the dangers involving semis and large trucks that do not follow safety protocol regarding speed, weather conditions, maintenance upkeep, etc.
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