Truck Over the Line Causes Wreck on Bluff During Storm
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Truck Over the Line Causes Wreck on Bluff During Storm -
An SUV heading up the Bluff struck the rear trailer wheels of an 18-wheeler that was heading north. According to a report from DPS, the trailer was partially across the center line when the wreck occurred The SUV struck the first rear axle of the trailer. Photos by Andy Behlen
A crash involving an SUV and an 18-wheeler shut down traffic on the Bluff outside La Grange for over an hour Monday morning, Aug. 4.
The wreck was one of several that happened in the County Monday morning just as a cool front pushed a rainstorm across the area. It took place around 10:47 a.m. in the second curve from the top of the Bluff.
According to a report from Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS), a black GMC Accadia driven by 37-year-old Vilma Rauda of La Grange was heading south on US 77. A red International trucktractor driven by 28-year-old Tyler Christopher Mtanous of Desoto was pulling a flatbed trailer was heading north.
The report said that as the 18-wheeler traveled around a sharp curve, the trailer went across the double yellow line and into the southbound lane of traffic. The GMC struck the first back axle of the trailer, breaking the dual tires free from the rig.
Fayette County EMS transported the Rauda to the Smithville Hospital for treatment. Trooper Patrick Mladenka with DPS investigated the crash. He issued Mtanous a citation for driving on the wrong side of the road.
The roadway reopened to traffic around 12:16 p.m.
Crash on SH 237
Also that morning, a delivery van went off the road and crashed along SH 237 between Warrenton and Round Top. According to a report from DPS, the wreck happened around 10:31 a.m.
The report said Jacoby Marcel Allen, 37 of Bryan, was driving a white 2022 Freightliner van south on SH 237. The report said the vehicle “was traveling too fast for the wet roadway and heavy raining weather conditions.” Allen lost control, the report said, and the vehicle slid off the west side of the road, striking a fence and tree. The van came to rest on private property facing west a few hundred feet south of Florida Chapel Rd.
Trooper Patrick Mladenka cited Allen for driving at an unsafe speed. Allen was wearing a seat belt, and he was not injured.