3 killed in tractor trailer crash on Texas-Oklahoma border
A tractor trailer crashed into a line of cars in a construction work zone and killed three people on Interstate 35 near Gainesville, Texas.
The fatal tractor trailer accident occurred at an area where the highway is reduced to one lane due to construction on a bridge. A line of cars had stopped because of the construction, but the tractor trailer, driven by James Crayton, 59, did not even slow down before slamming into the back of the last car.
The first car hit, containing passengers Anthony and Kimberly Brandon, exploded upon impact. Both passengers were killed.
The big rig then plowed through two more cars and sandwiched one between it and another tractor trailer. Darryl Hoosier, 55, was driving this car and was killed instantly. The driver of the other tractor trailer was uninjured.
An investigation into the tractor trailer crash is ongoing. Crayton was taken in by authorities for a mandatory blood test and questioning, but no charges have yet been filed. No indication was made by the investigating officers as to what may have distracted Crayton or caused him to crash into the line of cars.
This fatal trucking accident sounds very similar to a crash that we commented on here in the St. Louis area last year. A tractor trailer driver was distracted by his cell phone and crashed into a line of cars that was backed up due to construction on Highway 40. Three people were killed and a total of 11 vehicles were involved in that accident. Charges against the driver were filed earlier this year.
