Child Dies in Car Accident Near Carmine

A juvenile passenger died in a wreck on State Highway 237 Monday morning, Dec. 14.

The wreck happened around 7:40 a.m. near the intersection of 237 and Hinze Rd. according to a preliminary report from Trooper Mason Hartnett with the Texas Department of Public Safety.

The wreck involved a 18-wheeler and a 2003 Ford F-150 pickup. Hartnett said the 18-wheeler was parked in the southbound lane of 237 just past the crest of a hill. He said the pickup was traveling southbound behind the 18-wheel. The Ford slammed into the rear of the stopped 18-wheeler after it topped the hill.

The pickup was driven by a female driver. Hartnett said she was transporting two juvenile passengers.

One of the passengers died in the wreck. The other juvenile and the driver were transported to St. Joseph Hospital in Bryan, Hartnett said. Hartnett said the driver was wearing a seat belt but the two juvenile passengers were not.

The 18-wheeler was driven by a male driver. A female passenger was also in the 18-wheeler. Hartnett said the accident remains under investigation and he had not yet determined why the 18-wheeler was stopped in the roadway.

“That’s the biggest question – why they were parked there,” Hartnett told the Record.

He did not release the names of the people involved in the accident pending possible criminal charges.

Hartnett said he believed the driver of the pickup was taking the children to school that morning when the accident occurred.

Carmine and Ledbetter fire departments responded to the wreck along with Fayette County EMS, Washington County EMS and Sheriff’s Deputy Rick Bohlmann. DPS Sgt. Jeremy Weiser and Trooper Josh Berger assisted Hartnett with the investigation.