Luling man dies after rear-ending 18-wheeler

A Luling man died Tuesday from injuries sustained Monday night in far eastern Gonzales County when the pickup he was driving slammed into the back of an 18-wheeler.

William Darrell Jones, 47, of Luling, was pinned in his vehicle and was later airlifted to a San Antonio where he died the following day.

According to the Texas Department of Public Services, Jones was westbound on U.S. Highway 90A (Shiner Highway) near the Lavaca County line in a 2006 Ford F150 pickup at about 6:45 p.m. Monday as he approached an 18-wheeler which had slowed at the intersection of FM 443 (Dreyer Road).

The 1997 Peterbilt tractor-trailer driven by Albert Campos, 30, of Corpus Christi, began to make a left turn off of Highway 90A onto FM 443 as Jones attempted to pass the 18-wheeler on the left, the DPS report says.

When Jones realized the 18-wheeler was turning, he attempted to negotiate his pickup back behind the tractor-trailer, at which time the left front portion of the pickup struck the rear of the trailer, the DPS reported. The pickup skidded into the bar ditch before coming to rest facing northwest against a road sign. DPS calculated Jones was traveling at 77 mph at the time of impact.

According to police scanner reports, Jones was pinned in his vehicle following the collision, and was reported to be hemorrhaging as first responders raced to his rescue. A DPS official subsequently reported that Jones suffered severe head trauma in the accident.

But confusion about the location of the accident delayed the arrival of emergency vehicles to the crash site.

First broadcast on the police scanner as having occurred near U.S. Highway 90 and County Road 443 between Harwood and Waelder, Gonzales County EMS & Rescue, Gonzales Fire Department, Waelder Fire Department and DPS personnel raced toward the location in the northern part of the county.

But by 6:50 p.m., it was determined that the person reporting the accident had been incorrect about the location, which was actually near the Lavaca County line.

The first ground units arrived at the scene just after 7 p.m. and AirLIFE was dispatched to the site, police scanner traffic revealed.

Jones was quickly extracted from his pickup, and AirLIFE reportedly landed in a pasture adjacent to the crash site to transport him to University Hospital, according to first responders radio traffic.