IA Man Luqman Goher ID’d As Victim In Thursday Alabama Fatal Big-Rig Crash

LIVINGSTON, AL. (THECOUNT) — An Iowa truck driver was killed early Thursday morning when his tractor-trailer left Interstate 59 and crashed into a ditch and several trees in Sumter County, in the rural Black Belt region of west-central Alabama. Luqman A. Goher, of Ankeny, Iowa, was pronounced dead at the scene. Livingston, the Sumter County seat, is located approximately 11 miles southwest of the crash site. Goher was 31.

The Alabama Law Enforcement Agency reported the crash occurred at approximately 5:00 a.m. near the 26-mile marker on Interstate 59. According to ALEA, Goher was operating a 2020 Freightliner tractor-trailer when the vehicle departed the roadway, struck a ditch and then collided with several trees. No other vehicles were involved. The cause of the crash remains under investigation by the ALEA Highway Patrol Division.

Ankeny, where Goher resided, is a fast-growing suburb of Des Moines in Polk County, Iowa, with a population of more than 70,000. Situated approximately eight miles north of downtown Des Moines along Interstate 35, Ankeny has emerged as one of the most rapidly expanding communities in the state over the past two decades, driven by proximity to the state capital and a strong local economy. The city has a notable commercial trucking and logistics presence given its location along one of the Midwest’s primary interstate freight corridors.

Interstate 59 in Sumter County cuts through one of the most sparsely populated stretches of Alabama’s Black Belt region — a broad swath of dark, fertile soil running across the state’s midsection that has historically defined west Alabama’s landscape and economy. The highway through this corridor runs largely through open farmland and pine forest, with limited lighting, long straightaways, and few nearby services or population centers. The 26-mile marker places the crash site in a remote section of the county well north of Livingston and south of the Tuscaloosa County line. First responders in this area typically face extended response times due to the region’s rural geography.

Sumter County itself is one of Alabama’s least populous counties, with approximately 11,000 residents spread across more than 900 square miles of west Alabama terrain. Livingston, the county seat, is home to the University of West Alabama and serves as the region’s primary hub for government services, healthcare, and education. The nearest major trauma center to the crash scene is in Tuscaloosa, approximately 45 miles to the northeast, where DCH Regional Medical Center serves as the primary hospital for the broader west Alabama region.

Commercial trucking fatalities on rural interstates remain a persistent safety concern across the southeastern United States. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration tracks large truck crash data nationwide, and Alabama consistently records a significant number of commercial vehicle fatalities annually, particularly on rural stretches of interstate where driver fatigue, road conditions, and limited guardrail infrastructure can compound the consequences of a single moment of lost control. ALEA has not indicated whether fatigue or any other specific factor contributed to Thursday’s crash.

No additional information about Goher or the circumstances of the crash has been released. Anyone with information is encouraged to contact the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency.

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