MT. VERNON, TX (11/20/2016) — A Sunday evening accident injured three people and claimed the lives of Richard Cunningham and Teri Maser.
According to authorities, a multi-vehicle accident along Interstate 30 in Mt. Vernon, Texas killed 61-year-old Teri Lynne Maser (of Arlington) and 89-year-old Richard B. Cunningham (of Forsyth, Illinois).
The Texas Highway Patrol reported that shortly before 5:00 p.m., Osmany Pulido-Rodriguez was traveling westbound in an 18-wheeler when he failed to control his speed as he entered a construction zone and collided with two vehicles: a Dodge and a Cadillac.
The initial impact started a chain reaction causing the Dodge and Cadillac to collide with two other vehicles: a Hyundai and a Honda.
Two of the occupants from the Dodge—Maser and Cunningham—were pronounced dead at the scene. The driver of the Dodge, identified as 62-year-old Mark Gerard Maser (of Arlington) was transported to a hospital in Tyler with serious injuries.
Officials stated that the Cadillac driver, 48-year-old Millie Margarte Crews (of Emory), was taken to a nearby area hospital, where she refused treatment. Lewis Hernandez, the driver of the Honda, was treated and released on the scene by EMS personnel.
Rodrigo Cruz and Raul Cruz were listed as the two occupants of the Hyundai. Rodrigo, the driver, did not sustain injuries; Raul was taken to Titus Regional Hospital, where he received treatment for minor injuries. He has since been released.
An investigation is ongoing.
Commentary
The at-fault driver for this massive truck accident is likely to face multiple serious criminal charges, but police are still conducting their investigation at this point. According to the report, he failed to maintain a safe speed and following distance, and caused a collision which has devastated multiple families. As police release more information, we’ll continue to update this page.
Those affected by this crash, we offer our condolences.
