Two have lost their lives as a result of a Sunday morning crash on Interstate Highway 20, according to officials.
The wrong-way crash occurred in the early morning hours and involved four vehicles, two of which hit in a head-on collision.
The names of the two victims have not yet been released.
When a routine stop turns deadly
Tye police officers were conducting a routine traffic stop early Sunday morning at mile marker 278 on eastbound I-20.
They “observed a compact silver Toyota sedan entering the 278-off-ramp heading westbound in the eastbound lanes,” according to a recent press release.
Officers then attempted to capture the driver’s attention, but the driver evaded them and began accelerating in the wrong direction, according to allegations in the press release.
The wrong-way driver subsequently collided head-on with another vehicle, which resulted in fatalities for both the driver of the sedan and the driver of a Dodge Ram pickup.
“Despite efforts to administer life-saving measures to the driver of the Ram, they were unsuccessful,” the press release said.
A total of four vehicles were involved in the collision after an 18-wheeler collided with the disabled Ram pickup truck, causing damage to another vehicle as debris struck it.
‘Preventable tragedy’
The Tye Fire Department was dispatched to the crash site just after 2:45 a.m., according to the Tye Fire Department Facebook page.
Firefighters were on scene for over four hours as they assisted with extrication of passengers from their respective vehicles.
While neither driver survived the head-on collision, the two occupants of the semi, the driver and passenger, were transported to a local hospital with nonlife threatening injuries.
“The magnitude of the scene was challenging for all first responders involved,” Tye PD said in an online line post. “The incident was a significant and preventable tragedy.”
They were grateful, however, to receive help from other agencies such as the Tye Fire Department, Taylor County Sheriff’s Office, the Texas Department of Public Safety, Abilene Wrecker Service, Taylor County medics and the Texas Department of Public Safety for assisting during the investigation.
The investigation of this crash is ongoing, the press release noted. All involved vehicles were towed from the scene.
“Preliminary assessments suggest that alcohol may have been a contributing factor, and blood test results are pending,” according to the media release.
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This article originally appeared on Abilene Reporter-News: Head-on collision claims two lives in the Big Country
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