Speeding in the Rain Causes Truck to Wreck

An 18-wheeler lost control in the rain and jacknifed on SH 159 near Rutersville last Thursday, May 2.

According to a report from the Texas Department of Public Safety, 25-year-old Jorge Lewis Perez Fuentes of Cypress was driving a white 2007 Freightliner truck. It was towing a gravel trailer. The rig was heading southwest on SH 159.

The DPS report said the Freightliner was “traveling at an unsafe speed for the rainy conditions.” The driver lost control and the rig began to go off the roadway. The report said the driver used a faulty evasive action and overcorrected to the right.

At that time, a white 2024 Ford F-250 pickup driven by 54-year-old Kenneth Wayne Bertling of Fayetteville was heading northeast on the highway. The Freightliner grazed the pickup and struck its mirror. The 18-wheeler went into the south ditch and ran through a fence. The trailer jacknifed and struck the Freightliner on the right side.

The Freightliner sustained damage to the front end and right side. The trailer was undamaged. The only damage to Bertling’s pickup was the mirror.

No one was injured. DPS issued Fuentes a citation for driving at an unsafe speed.