17-0412
“No one stopped to help her…”
STORMS CREATE ROAD HAZARDS ACROSS SOUTH TEXAS
By Marc Robertson
A series of storms passed over South Texas on Tuesday evening, April 11, bringing heavy rain, high wind and hail in some areas, and a number of crashes on IH-35 may have been due to drivers losing control of their vehicles in adverse conditions, according to law enforcement officials.
The La Salle County Sheriff’s Office is pointing to rain-soaked roadways and limited visibility as contributing to hazardous driving conditions prior to at least two accidents that occurred within 30 minutes of each other shortly after 4 p.m. Tuesday, during the hour at which storms were at their most intense over the interstate.
Heavy rainfall between Millett and Cotulla on Tuesday afternoon created dangerous conditions in which a driver may have lost control of her steering near Milemarker 73, according to La Salle Deputy Juan Mirelez, who was dispatched to the crash site to find that a Chevrolet Malibu sedan had come to rest in a roadside ditch.
“We were notified by a number of callers that a car appeared to have run off the road near Gardendale,” the deputy said. “But when we reached the car, there was no one in it.”
The deputy said he discovered a card bearing an emergency contact number in the abandoned car and called to learn from a man in Laredo that the driver was 26-year-old nursing student Perla Gonzales, who had walked from Gardendale to Cotulla and was waiting to be collected from a highwayside travel center.
“The car had sustained serious damage to its front end and windshield,” Deputy Mirelez said of the crash site. “It appeared to have struck a highway sign after veering out of the southbound lanes and had then landed in a ditch in the west-side median. The driver had decided to abandon the damaged vehicle and look for help. At that time, her phone battery was low on power. She could not call anyone.”
Gonzales walked five miles through a thunderstorm.
“No one stopped to help her,” Mirelez added. “When I eventually found her at the truck stop, she was happy to see me.”
Gonzales told the investigating officer that she had been traveling home to Laredo from San Antonio when visibility on the highway had deteriorated.
“She wasn’t sure whether her car had hydroplaned on the wet road, but she recalled feeling as though she had hit something,” the deputy said of his interview with Gonzales. “She said that she was unable to control the car and that she recalled leaving the road and landing in the ditch.”
Deputy Mirelez said he believes Gonzales was inexperienced with adverse driving conditions and noted that unsafe speed and loss of steering control may have been contributing factors in the crash at a time when there was water on the road and limited visibility.
“In this case, the driver was fortunate not to have been injured,” the deputy said. “We discovered that the Malibu had, in fact, struck a highway sign on its way off the road. At issue here is whether any motorist should proceed at normal highway speeds when the weather is this bad.”
In a further weather-related crash, emergency responders were dispatched to a scene some seven miles south of Cotulla before 4:30 p.m. Tuesday after learning that an 18-wheel freight truck and box trailer had jackknifed on the interstate’s southbound lanes.
In a brief statement on the freight truck crash, Texas DPS Sgt. JD Rodriguez said severe weather with heavy rain, high winds and limited visibility had made for hazardous driving conditions in which faulty driving practices may have resulted in an accident.
“From what we have been able to determine at this early stage, the truck was traveling through very heavy rainfall between Cotulla and Artesia Wells,” the sergeant said. “The storm contributed to poor driving conditions.”
No serious injuries have been reported from Tuesday’s accidents.
The sheriff’s office and the Texas Department of Public Safety are reiterating a caution to all motorists to heed weather advisories and to slow down in adverse conditions. Minimal amounts of rain on the interstate may contribute to loss of traction and loss of steering control, officers note, and emergency braking may cause a vehicle to veer out of its lane of travel.
“It’s better to arrive late than to risk your safety and other people’s safety,” Sheriff Miguel Rodriguez said this week. “When you’re driving in bad weather, you have to use common sense. If necessary, take the next exit and wait for the storm to pass.”
Sgt. Rodriguez said he believes travelers should take extra precautions at times when severe weather is likely.
“You have to be aware that storms are common and may be sudden at this time of year and in this part of the country,” the sergeant said. “It’s important to slow down when visibility is diminished, watch out for water on the roadway and maintain a safe distance from other vehicles. Braking distances and steering are particularly affected by wet roads and high wind.”