Semi driver intoxicated in fatal Fort Worth crash, police say
Two separate crashes on North Texas roads impacted drivers on Thursday morning
North Texas drivers faced major traffic delays after two separate crashes on Thursday morning: a fatal crash on W Loop 820 in Fort Worth and a fiery crash on Interstate 35E in Dallas.
FATAL CRASH ON SOUTH FREEWAY
According to Fort Worth police, officers were dispatched to West Loop 820 South Freeway and White Settlement Road shortly before 1:30 a.m. for a crash.
Police said when officers arrived, they learned a tractor-trailer had collided with multiple other vehicles on the freeway, pinning at least one person.
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Officials said construction in the area reduced traffic to one lane and that traffic was a stop when the crash occurred. Police said the tractor-trailer driver failed to stop and collided with a vehicle, pushing it into another vehicle.
The driver of one of the vehicles was pronounced dead at the scene by medical personnel, and a passenger from the same vehicle was transported to an area hospital with serious but non-life-threatening injuries, police said.
The tractor-trailer driver was also hospitalized. Police said DWI officers conducted as much of a field sobriety test as they could and determined he was intoxicated. The driver, identified as 24-year-old Guadalupe Velazquez, later consented to provide a sample of his blood. The results of that blood test are not yet known.
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Police said Velazquez has been charged with intoxication manslaughter with a vehicle and intoxication assault with a vehicle causing serious bodily injury in connection with the fatal crash.
According to police, all other individuals were treated and released at the scene. Police said all northbound lanes of West Loop 820 South Freeway were shut down for several hours due to the crash.
FIERY CRASH NEAR DOWNTOWN DALLAS
Meanwhile, sheriff’s deputies in Dallas responded to a fiery crash on northbound I-35E near Continental Avenue.
According to the Dallas County Sheriff’s Office, three people have been transported to local hospitals after the major crash. Two of those individuals are in critical condition.
Police said all traffic had to exit at Continental Avenue for several hours after the crash. The roadway has since reopened.
