February 16th, 2012 | 
Author: VICTORIA, TX. – Two semi trucks and a van collided on U.S. Highway 59, Wednesday morning at about 7:30 a.m. on Feb. 15 killing one of the van’s passengers, a 30 year old man from Alice, Texas and injuring 4 others.
Photo shows semi truck that crashed in Victoria, TX on highway 59, Wednesday, Feb. 15, 2012. Photo credit: Victoria Advocate
Photo shows van carrying oil field workers hit by a semi truck in Victoria, TX, that killed passenger, Robert Lee Garcia, on Wednesday, February 15, 2012. Photo credit: Victoria Advocate
The accident occurred on highway 59 near Victoria when the van was rear-ended by a big rig. The Department of Public Safety troopers say fog contributed to the crash.
Map shows location of semi truck accident in Victoria, TX on Highway 59 at Fisher Rd. where a van carrying oil field workers was struck by an 18 wheeler, killing one of the passengers.
Officials told the media that a semi truck cut off the van that was carrying seven oil field workers in the back. When the driver of the van tried to stop, his van was then rear-ended by another 18-wheeler, trapping the workers inside the wreckage.
The 30-year old victim who was killed at the scene was identified as Robert Lee Garcia from Alice Texas. Garcia, a passenger in the right rear seat of the van, was pronounced dead at Citizens Medical Center after the 7:30 a.m. crash on U.S. Highway 59 at the corner of Fisher Road and Hill St., according to Texas Department of Public Safety spokesman Lt. Glen Garrett.
Garrett told the media that the van was traveling north when the tractor-trailer driver, Steven Bishop, 52, of Bogata, struck the van while attempting to cross the two lanes of the highway. Bishop, who was a driver for Strad Energy Services of Victoria, was hauling a front end loader on a flat-bed trailer.
“It was a heavy fog situation,” Garrett said. “It looks like a weather-related crash due to the dense fog we were experiencing at the time. The most serious injuries were in the back portion of the van.”
According to Garrett, a second 18 wheeler heading south driven by Isa Allie Grey, 48, of Highlands, also struck the van. Grey was hauling two fork lifts on a flat-bed trailer when the crash forced the van off the highway. Bishop pulled his truck onto the grass off the road to avoid any further collisions.
The seven oil field workers who were inside the van worked for Precision Drilling. Garrett said that five of the workers, including Garcia, were taken by Victoria Fire Department Emergency Medical Services to Citizens Medical Center. All the other passengers taken to the hospital were treated and released, according to Garrett.
The driver of the van, Edward Bernal, 43, of Seguin, and a passenger in the front of the van were uninjured. Neither semi truck driver nor a passenger in the second semi truck were injured.
The incident remains under investigation at this time.
Source: The Victoria Advocate
Posted by Houston truck accident lawyer Gordon, Elias & Seely, LLP
Posted in Texas Truck Accidents | 
Tags: Houston Truck Accident Lawyers, Victoria Truck Accident Lawyer