Fatal Head-On Crash Leaves Four Dead

Four people were killed early Saturday morning last week in a head-on collision on a rural Texas road in just outside Decatur.

Just after 3 am, on the two-lane FM 730, the 30-year-old driver of a Ford F-350 pickup truck was headed northbound when he noticed a Ford Mustang headed southbound — in his northbound lane. Both the pickup truck driver and the driver of the Mustang swerved to avoid each other, but the vehicles still collided.

All four passengers in the Mustang were declared dead on the scene of the fatal wrong-way auto accident. The identities of all of the victims have not yet been released, but at least two teenagers were among the Mustang’s passengers. The 17-year-old driver of the Mustang was immediately airlifted to John Peter Smith Hospital in Fort Worth. He sustained serious injuries and was in critical condition.

The driver of the Ford pickup sustained only minor injuries. He was transported to Wise Regional Health System in nearby Decatur where he was treated for his injuries and released

According to the Texas Department of Public Safety, everyone involved in the fatal car accident was wearing a seat belt, but the impact was too great to prevent life-threatening injuries. Investigators believe that the 17-year-old driver of the Mustang was passing another car — in a no passing zone — at the time of the accident. It is unknown whether excessive speed and alcohol use may have been involved in the accident, but investigators have not ruled them out as contributing factors.

Source: WFAA.com, “Four dead in head-on crash in Wise County,” 7/23/11.