By Moses Leos III.
A fatal collision on FM 1626 near Jerrys Lane in Buda Monday morning claimed the life of Trisha Marie Foulkrod.
Between 7:30 and 8 a.m., a dump truck traveling north on FM 1626 collided with two guardrails and rolled onto Foulkrod’s gray Hyundai Sonata. The contents of the truck spilled onto her car.
Foulkrod was pronounced dead at the scene.
FoulkrodAt top, Buda Fire Department Chief Clay Huckaby inspects the wreckage of Monday morning’s deadly accident on FM 1626 near Jerrys Lane in Buda. The accident involved a dump truck, which rolled onto a sedan driven by Buda resident Trisha Marie Foulkrod, who was killed in the crash. Her six-year-old grandson, who was in the back seat of the sedan, escaped with minor bruising. The driver of the dump truck was uninjured, but was sent to the hospital for blood and urine samplling then released. Authorirties say the truck was traveling at an unsafe speed. |
In the back seat of the Sonata was a six-year old occupant, later determined to be Foulkrod’s grandson. Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) Trooper Robbie Barrera said the boy was removed from the car by a witness of the accident.
The driver of the dump truck, Armando Santillan-Mexquitic of Austin, did not go to the hospital for injuries, but was sent for urine and blood sampling.
According to Barrera, the dump truck was traveling at “unsafe speeds”, when for unknown reasons, it ran off the side of the road to the right. Santillan-Mexquitic overcorrected, lost control, and struck a guardrail with the truck’s rear right side tire.
The dump truck careened across both lanes of traffic, into the path of Foulkrod’s car.
Foulkrod stopped to avoid the accident, but the momentum of the truck carried it into her cars’ path, according to police.
The truck then hit a guard rail on the left side of the road, flipping it onto it’s side and on top of the Sonata, spilling it contents onto Foulkrod’s car.
Several witnesses who saw the accident rushed to help. One, Buda resident and veteran Herman Fabela, was en route to attend a Veterans Day parade. Fabela said he noticed the dump truck having driving difficulty.
After the collision, Fabela made his way to the scene. He grabbed a shovel and started to dig through “very damp road-base.”
Fabela said he broke the side windows of the car, all the while attempting to get the driver’s attention.
“I rushed over to get as close to the situation as possible.” Fabela said. “I was trying to get the lady to respond to me.”
Buda resident Donovan Ludwig, whose driveway was close to the accident, also attempted to help.
Ludwig said he heard the sound of the wreck while exiting his driveway.
“I was coming down (my) driveway, and you [could] hear the truck flip over. You [could] hear it sliding,” Ludwig said.
Like Fabela, Ludwig joined in the effort to extricate Foulkrod from the accident. Ludwig said “six or seven” other people also shoveled dirt.
“You don’t think about it. You do your best to try to save someone,” he said.
High speed has not officially been ruled a factor in the accident. Barrera said the DPS State Crash Team is investigating the cause.
However, many residents remain concerned of high speeds along 1626.
Resident Cynthia Hill has seen traffic hit 60 or more miles per hour, saying the road is “very dangerous.”
She hopes the completion of the 1626 widening will alleviate those issues. Ludwig, who claims to see accidents near Jerrys Lane at least once a month, echoed Hill’s sentiment about the speed of trucks on that road.
“Coming out of here, taking my kids to school at 7 a.m., you have big rigs coming down that hill at 50 to 60 miles per hour,” Ludwig said. “There’s nobody here to watch that. With all the residential people coming out of the roads, [the speed limit] should be a lot slower.”
Still, he understands the tragic loss of life on 1626.
“All my prayers and condolences are to the family right now,” Ludwig said.
