A semi-truck driver was arrested after allegedly falling asleep at the wheel and causing a multi-vehicle highway crash that killed five people and injured many others. According to KLTV, this horrific crash occurred on I-20 near Wills Point in Kaufman County, Texas, at 2:40 PM.
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5 Dead After Arrested Truck Driver Causes Multi-Vehicle Crash On Highway
Police charged 27-year-old Alexis Osmani Gonzalez-Companioni with five counts of manslaughter and one count of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon after the deadly incident. The truck driver allegedly told the cops that he had fallen asleep at the wheel when he collided with a pickup truck holding five people.
This was when traffic had already slowed due to another car wreck, according to Sgt. Kyle Bradford with the Texas Highway Patrol. The vehicles crashed into two other semi-trucks, one of them jack-knifing and hitting three passenger vehicles.
Four passengers inside the pickup truck died at the scene, while the fifth passenger was airlifted to a local hospital with life-threatening injuries. Meanwhile, the fifth fatality was an occupant of a Jeep Compass struck by one of the semi-trucks, per PEOPLE.
Two other passengers were injured in the multi-vehicle collision. Luckily, they are on the road to recovery. Still, we don’t yet know how the hospitalized crash victim with serious injuries is fairing.
The Terrell Volunteer Fire Department described the deadly crash as “horrific” and called it a “mass casualty” event, reported CBS News. Emergency responders had to shut down traffic in both east and westbound directions.
In an interview with WFAA, a witness to the devastating wreck recalled how loud it was. “That loud, and that bang was just incredible,” said Corinne Mulcahy. She lives at a nearby RV resort, not too far from the highway.
“I saw the first truck’s brake lights, the F150, and then I saw this truck just come out of nowhere,” Mulcahy continued. “I don’t know how many miles an hour he was going when he hit that pick-up truck.”
Gonzalez-Companioni remains in police custody in Kaufman County.