HEARNE, TX – Poor driving conditions due to heavy rains is being blamed for a fatal accident involving an 18-wheeler and a pickup on Texas 6 south of Hearne on Thursday afternoon, March 29, that left three people dead and two others injured. Hearne is located in Robertson County, Texas in the eastern central part of the state about 119 miles northwest of Houston and 95 miles northeast of Austin.
Reports say that the pickup truck and semi truck accident occurred at about 12:45 p.m., when a heavy downpour created hazardous driving conditions on the stretch of Texas state highway 6 also known as U.S. Highway 190. The crash forced authorities to close down all lanes of the highway for several hours.
Witnesses told the Department of Public Safety investigators that it appeared that both vehicles were headed northbound when the the 18-wheeler rear-ended the pickup after the driver of the pickup lost control and hydroplaned.
Trooper Jimmy Morgan said that interviews with family members of those in the pickup suggested that the vehicles might have been traveling in opposite directions. DPS is still trying to determine the direction.
The Eagle.com reports:
DPS identified the dead as James Darwyn Jones, 75, of Bryan, the driver of the Toyota; Kenneth Michael Pecina, 28, of Franklin, and Pecina’s son, 5-year-old Trey Michael Pecina, both passengers in the pickup. They were pronounced dead at the scene and their bodies were taken to Memorial Funeral Home in Hearne, DPS reported.
Mary Nikole Hamilton, 24, of Fort Stockton, was also in the pickup. DPS said that she sustained incapacitating shoulder and leg injuries from the accident, and was taken to St. Joseph Hospital in Bryan for surgery. According to a supervisor at St. Joseph Hospital, Hamilton was recovering Thursday evening.
The driver of the 18 wheeler, owned by Sanderson Farms, has been identified as 44-year-old Armando Sanchez-Pulido of Bryan. DPS said that Pulido was also taken to St. Joseph with minor injuries, but was released shortly after.
The incident remains under investigation at this time.
Truck Accident Lawyer News is a truck accident blog that publishes up to date truck accident and truck legal news from across the United States. Houston truck accident lawyer, Gordon, Elias & Seely, state that Texas weather can be unpredictable often times creating dangerous driving conditions. Commercial truck drivers know that specific laws have been put into place by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration to ensure that big rigs, 18 wheelers, semi-trucks and tractor trailers take extra precautions while on the road.