Someone’s unhitched trailer results in this dashcam owner totaling their car. Two other drivers hit the trailer, too.
Jackson County commuter and Redditor /u/FigureBeneficial9951 shared some surprising dashcam footage from I-435 from earlier in April (April 24, 2026) to the /r/IdiotsInCars subreddit showing someone’s unhitched utility trailer causing a head-on collision and ultimately roping in at least two other cars, too.
Check out the surprise trailer in the fast-lane dashcam video below with the original Reddit thread linked here.
The incident happened on I-435 before Exit 57 onto Front St. (Exact location on Google Maps linked here.)
As the dashcam shows, OP is headed north on I-435 through the edge if Kansas City.
OP clarified in the comments that he’d just finished a 13-hour shift and was quite tired on his commute home.
As he’s chugging along in the fast lane, suddenly, someone’s unhitched utility trailer can be seen by OP’s front headlights.
Without much room to emergency brake, let alone react, OP slams into the utility trailer, essentially totaling his car.
Photos of the aftermath can be seen here.
The utility trailer ripped through OP’s Volkswagen driver’s side, damaging the front frame, obliterating vital front suspension parts, and slicing through the VW’s wiring harness, including what looks like important transmission and cooling lines.
“Trailer totaled my car and hit 2 other cars after bouncing off mine. Both others had to be towed. The car on the side of the road left before the cops got there, so possibly was theirs? No idea,” OP clarified.
“Op didnt slowdown for the hazard light at all regardless, though…,” one of the replies to another commenter pointed out how a stopped vehicle with its hazards on shifted OP’s attention away from where the trailer was.
“Yep. Definitely a mistake I’m not going to make again. Just happy I learned that lesson with relatively light consequences,” OP replied.
In Missouri, leaving a trailer or obstruction in a lane of interstate traffic that causes a crash could result in citations such as careless and imprudent driving or other traffic violations, depending on the circumstances. Penalties vary, but a standard careless and imprudent driving conviction can carry up to 4 points on a Missouri driving record. Fines and additional charges may apply depending on whether the obstruction caused injury or property damage.
