Fiery Crash in Texas Kills Ten
Five members of a North Texas family and five people traveling in a pickup truck were killed when their vehicles were struck by a tractor-trailer rig that had veered across a median into oncoming traffic, authorities said.
SHERMAN, Texas (AP) -- Five members of a North Texas family and five people traveling in a pickup truck were killed when their vehicles were struck by a tractor-trailer rig that had veered across a median into oncoming traffic, authorities said.
The victims of the Monday afternoon crash were identified as three McKinney children, Chance Martin, 4, Brock Martin, 2, and Reid Martin, 6 weeks, police said.
They were riding with their mother, Lisa Wood Martin, 32, and grandmother, Betsy Wood, 72, in a sport utility vehicle that burned beyond recognition after being hit by the tractor-trailer rig.
``It was a horrible scene,'' Sherman Justice of the Peace Greg Middents said. ``It was probably the worst wreck that I have seen. There were bodies on the roadway. The SUV was totally engulfed and basically destroyed.''
The tractor-trailer's driver, Miroslav Janusz Jozwiak, 45, and two adults in the pickup were hurt, authorities said. Jozwiak, a Polish national, suffered broken teeth and bruises and was taken to the Grayson County Jail after being released from the hospital.
Middents said Jozwiak was being held Tuesday on 10 counts of criminally negligent homicide, but that no formal charges had been filed because authorities were waiting on a Polish interpreter.
No conditions were available for the survivors from the tractor-trailer.
Jozwiak worked for KV Express of Willow Springs, Ind. Authorities did not know what caused the driver to cross the median. Sherman Fire Capt. Doug Blackburn said the trailer appeared to be empty.
Seven people were in the pickup truck, including some who were riding in its bed, Blackburn said. Some of the occupants, including the driver, appeared to be Mexican Nationals.
The five killed in the pickup truck were identified as: Manuel Esparza, 39; J. Marcos Esparza, 41; Hector Zapata, 33; Joel Mendoza Ruiz, 36 and German Esparza Velazquez, 19. Their hometowns were not immediately available.
Middents said the two others in the pickup were taken to Parkland Hospital. Candelario Esparza was listed in fair condition there Tuesday, but the condition of the other passenger, Javier Esparza, was unavailable.
The SUV was crushed and its license plate and vehicle identification number were destroyed in the fire. Authorities were unable to identify its occupants until a McKinney man came to the scene saying his family hadn't returned home that evening, the Sherman-Denison Herald Democrat reported in its Tuesday editions.
``The tractor-trailer rig and the SUV caught fire. It's really hard to tell one from the other,'' Sherman Police Capt. Otis Henry said.
Well into Monday evening, emergency officials continued to search for remains after setting up lights to illuminate the wreckage, which was strewn across both of the southbound lanes.
While the tractor-trailer rig and remnants of the SUV rested on the grassy shoulder of the roadway, the pickup truck with its cab crushed and partially draped with tarps rested askew a short distance away.
The pileup closed a section of the highway's southbound lanes for much of the night. A Sherman police dispatcher said the highway was reopened early Tuesday.
The wreck occurred on the southern edge of Sherman, about 60 miles north of Dallas.
