A local man is counting his blessings after his pickup was struck by a semi truck and trailer loaded with 80,000 pounds of sand, just west of the railroad trestle on U.S. Hwy 183 South near Early Wednesday morning. The accident occurred shortly after 10:00 a.m.
According to Texas Department of Public Safety Trooper Travis Hounshell, the GMC 3500 pickup was traveling west and pulling a gooseneck flatbed trailer carrying a back hoe when it was struck by a semi truck that was also heading west. The driver of the semi tried to avoid striking the pickup by passing in the left lane; however, the pickup was already attempting the turn when the two vehicles collided, according to Trooper Hounshell.
The GMC pickup suffered extensive damage to the driver’s side rear door and bed and its driver was bruised up but reported to have only minor injuries. The driver had picked up the back hoe from his father’s property in Zephyr and was turning into a property he had recently bought.
His family of the driver of the pickup was at the scene and stated that they felt “he had an angel sitting on his shoulder this morning.” The driver’s father had arrived at the scene and unloaded the back hoe and used it to move the trailer from the roadway.
The semi truck had damage to its front end and its driver was reported to be uninjured. The driver of the semi stated that he was heading to Barnhart, TX with the load of sand. The information on the semi truck indicated that it was operated by an oil field company out of Wichita Falls, Texas.
The accident is being investigated by Trooper Hounshell. The wreck occurred just west of the railroad trestle which Texas Department of Public Safety is slated to rebuild this summer due to “serious safety concerns;” however, Hounshell stated that in this case, he did not believe the railroad trestle contributed to the cause of the accident.
Allegiance EMS was called to the scene; however, neither driver was transported. Early Volunteer Fire Department was also on scene to assist with the accident.
Pictured above is the damaged GMC pickup. Below are more photos of the damaged vehicles at the accident scene.
