The Blog

According to authorities in Beaumont, Texas, a 26-year-old woman entered the westbound lanes of Interstate 10 at the Doty Road exit headed the wrong way. The collision occurred early Thursday morning around 3:15 a.m. in Orange County. The Texas Department of Public Safety report states the woman was driving a 2021 Toyota SUV eastbound along the Interstate 10 access road when she entered the westbound lanes of the Doty Road exit headed the wrong direction. Her Toyota SUV struck the left side of a 2019 Kenworth 18-wheeler pulling a double-trailer headed west along the interstate. Both motorists received treatment for their injuries at Christus St. Elizabeth Hospital in Beaumont. Investigation at this time remains ongoing.

At the end of 2021 – on December 26 – an on-duty Houston Police Officer hit a 75-year-old motorist turning left onto Thornton Road from southbound N. Shepherd. The motorist, Charles Payne, was driving home from church when the officer struck him. According to authorities, the officer was operating an agency-issued SUV patrol vehicle when he hit Payne. First responders transported Payne to a local hospital for minor injuries, but unfortunately, Payne did not make it. The Houston Police Department Vehicular Crimes and Internal Affairs Divisions, as well as the Harris County District Attorney’s Office, are investigating the fatal accident. The officer was not responding to any calls at the time of the accident.

According to Dallas County, on Monday, December 13, a box truck clipped a Dallas Independent School District (ISD) bus taking Casa View Elementary students on a field trip. The vehicles were traveling on Interstate 635 near Interstate 30 when the collision occurred. A spokesperson for Dallas ISD reported the wreck took place around 10:45 a.m., and that two passengers on the bus received treatment for minor injuries at a local hospital. Buses from Mesquite ISD arrived to take the students to Mesquite High School.

Celebrating with family, and seeing old friends is what makes the holidays some of the best times of the year! With all the excitement taking place, it’s particularly important to keep safety at the top of the priority list. We can all recall that winter weather has been especially unpredictable the past few years, so if you’re planning on hitting the road, keep Yuletide spirits high and everybody safe with winter weather driving tips.

Early Tuesday morning around 12:30 a.m. in Dallas, first responders rescued a driver from a semitrailer that drove off the overpass connecting West Woodall Rodgers Freeway and northbound Interstate 35 East. The semitrailer fell about thirty to forty feet, landed onto a rail line, and erupted into flames. It took first responders more than an hour to free the driver from the truck and take him to the hospital. The driver remains in critical condition.

A fiery three-vehicle collision on Wednesday, December 8th resulted in the death of 48-year-old Odessa woman, Maria Louisa Loya. The three vehicles involved, Loya’s Chevrolet Trax and two semi-trucks, were all traveling eastbound on Interstate 20 near Stanton, Texas when the collision occurred. The impact caused all three cars to catch fire. The two semi-truck drivers, Maurin Jimenez-Mena and Zengfeng Shan, escaped unharmed.