ABILENE, TX (08/24/2015) — 51-year-old retired Abilene firefighter Joe Tidwell was killed, and Shauna Eileff was critically injured, in a nine-vehicle pile-up on Monday afternoon.
According to police, 51-year-old Joe Tidwell, a veteran of the Abilene Fire Department, was killed on Monday afternoon after a multi-vehicle crash on Interstate 20 near Pine Street in Abilene, Texas.
Authorities state that at around 4:15 p.m., an 18-wheeler carrying gravel lost its load on I-20, causing a cloud of dust to form instantaneously.
“Multiple collisions occurred as vehicles began braking while entering the cloud,” said Sgt. Lynn Beard of the Abilene Police Department. “Tidwell’s vehicle was subsequently rear-ended by a westbound tractor-trailer that entered the cloud a few seconds later.”
Tidwell lost his life in the wreckage.
According to reports, Shauna Eileff, Tidwell’s 42-year-old passenger, was transported to Hendrick Medical Center, where she was listed in critical condition and immediately taken into surgery.
This crash remains under investigation.
