Fatal Crash

Accident Injury Report: Distracted Semi Driver Kills Woman on I-35 in Oklahoma

Published on: November 11, 2020 | by Carabin Shaw

Nov. 11, 2020, McCLAIN COUNTY, Oklahoma: Investigators said a truck driver was driving distracted on Interstate 35 where he killed a woman and injured her husband. Oklahoma Highway Patrol troopers responded to the crash on March 2, 2020, near mile marker 82 in McClain County.

A semi-truck driven by 58-year-old Johnny Spradlin was surrounded by other vehicles approaching a construction zone.

Investigators said surrounding vehicles slowed down, but the 18-wheeler driver Spradlin did not. He crashed into a 2016 Chevy Traverse driven by 63-year-old Julia Kraus and her passenger husband around 9:30 a.m. Kraus was pronounced dead at the scene. Kraus’ husband was injured in the crash but survived.

ACCIDENT INJURY REPORT: DPS Investigating Deadly 2-vehicle Crash on Highway 84, Southeast of Lubbock

Published on: October 6, 2020 | by Carabin Shaw

Tuesday, Oct. 6, 2020: LUBBOCK, Texas — The Texas Department of Public Safety released updated details Thursday evening on a deadly crash that happened just after 1:00 p.m. Emergency crews responded to the crash along Highway 84 near County Road 7500 near the City of Slaton.

DPS reported a pickup truck with a trailer driven by Thomas Henry Erskine Jr, 18, of Templeton, California. The pickup truck was going southeast on Highway 84. DPS said a Tahoe driven by Berta Arispe, 59, of Colorado City was going northwest on the highway.

The pickup truck came upon a construction vehicle that was directing traffic over to the right lane for a construction company. The pickup truck, “took evasive action steering hard to the left to avoid other vehicles.”

ACCIDENT INJURY REPORT: Three Killed in Head-on Crash on SH 105 Near Tarkington

Published on: October 5, 2020 | by Carabin Shaw

October 5, 2020: The Texas Department of Public Safety has identified the victims of the September 27, 2020 head-on crash on SH 105 about a mile east of FM 2518 in Tarkington northeast of Houston.

Two of the deceased victims are from Houston while the third is from Hardin County. They are Francisco Rivera-Rosas, 33, of Houston, who was driving the black Chevrolet pickup that veered into the path of another black Chevrolet pickup driven by Timothy Gannon, 56, of Saratoga. Both drivers were killed as well as a backseat passenger in Rivera-Rosas’ vehicle – Juan Salgado, age unknown.

Two other passengers were traveling in Rivera-Rosas’ vehicle – his 15-year-old son, who was uninjured, and 43-year-old Juan Salgado-Alvarez, 43, of Houston, who was seriously injured. Gannon’s wife, Kimberly Gannon, 57, also suffered serious injuries.

ACCIDENT INJURY REPORT: Cadillac Driver Killed in 18-Wheeler Crash in Houston

Published on: April 24, 2020 | by Carabin Shaw

Wednesday, April 22, 2020, Houston: Police report a driver was killed when he tried to pass an 18-wheeler that was reversing along a commercial street Wednesday in southeast Houston. The big rig was facing southbound in the northbound lane of Nunn Street near Lindbergh Street around 3 p.m. when its driver started driving in reverse, according to Houston police. At some point, the big rig driver started to drift into the southbound lane while still in reverse, according to police.

At the same time, a 34-year-old man driving a Cadillac DTS was southbound on Nunn and attempted to pass the truck on the right but clipped the back-right corner of the trailer, police said. Witnesses said the Cadillac driver appeared to be driving at a high speed when he struck the trailer.

The force of the crash ripped the roof off the Cadillac, which landed about 30 feet away from the car. Firefighters had to use special tools to pry the rest of the car open to pull the driver out.

ACCIDENT INJURY REPORT: Austin Reaches its Twenty-fourth Fatal Crash for 2020

Published on: April 7, 2020 | by Carabin Shaw

Austin Texas, April 7, 2020 On the evening of March 30th around 9:20 PM a collision happened that marked the 24th fatal traffic incident in Austin so far this year, resulting in 25 fatalities. Compared to last year at this point in 2019, there were 17 fatal traffic crashes. (APD)

The incident happened along the 5500 block of East Parmer Lane on the northeast side. The driver of a Hummer H3 was moving south over the eastbound lanes of the street when she failed to yield to a 2008 Mercedes-Benz ML3 driven by Cain Perez Estrada, 34. The Mercedes struck the passenger side of the Hummer injuring the two children passengers. The children were transported to the Dell Children’s Medical Center with serious trauma. One of the children, Daminik Lopez, 9 died from her injuries 5 days later. The other child also underwent surgery for their critical injuries and that child’s status is still unknown at this time. The driver of the Hummer’s name has not been released by the police.

Estrada was also injured in the accident and was transferred to a local hospital for non life-threatening injuries. After he was discharged, he was then arrested by Austin police on DWI which is believed to be a contributing factor in this accident.

ACCIDENT INJURY REPORT: Man Killed in Serious One-Truck Crash in El Paso

Published on: March 30, 2020 | by Carabin Shaw

March 26, 2020: EL PASO, Texas – EL Paso Police said one man was killed in a serious truck crash Thursday morning on the Border Highway.

Federico Flores Jr., 44, was an employee of the City of El Paso Streets and Maintenance Department. He died when his 2007 Ford Ranger crashed into a median along the border at about 6:10 a.m. on Loop 375 East, near U.S. 54.

According to an El Paso Police Department news release, Flores was going south on U.S. 54 and was merging on Loop 375 when he “veered across the lanes and stuck the center median.” The early morning crash forced all traffic to exit Loop 375.

ACCIDENT INJURY REPORT: One Dead, Three Injured in Abilene Construction Truck Crash

Published on: March 16, 2020 | by Carabin Shaw

Wednesday, March 11, 2020: ABILENE, TX – A fatal crash in Abilene left one person dead and three seriously injured. According to DPS, the crash occurred after a construction truck disregarded a stop sign and t-boned a small Ford on the passenger side that was traveling west on FM 3034. According to KTXS, DPS troopers responded to a crash on US 83 and FM 3034 near the Abilene Landfill in Jones County on Wednesday afternoon just before 5:30 p.m.

Troopers found 18-year-old Diego Hernandez dead at the scene. The three passengers in the back seat had to be extradited using the jaws of life.

One of the passengers was a one-year-old infant who was seriously injured. The infant was flown to Cook Children’s Hospital in Fort Worth. An off-duty trooper who arrived first to the scene administered CPR to the baby. Investigators stated the infant was not properly restrained. Abilene Police and Firefighters were also at the scene.