by KIM HILSENBECK
Following a near head-on collision late Thursday morning, a man driving a blue SUV heading north on FM 1626 hit the tail end of a flat-bed tractor trailer loaded with hay that was traveling southbound.
The SUV spun around into the woods at the edge of the road and ended up facing southwest.
According to Hays County Sheriff’s Deputy Marty Espinoza, the driver of that vehicle was taken to the hospital with a broken femur. Espinoza said there was only one person in the SUV.
Buda Fire Department Chief Clay Huckaby said when his crews arrived, the driver was not belted in.
“The steering wheel had been collapsed to the right from obvious signs of impact. So we could only assume he as not wearing his seatbelt,” he said.
The driver of the tractor trailer, Richard Fuessle, said the SUV nearly hit him head-on, but he was able to move the truck out of the way. However, Fuessle said the SUV then ran into the back of his rig. He said it took several seconds to slow the truck down enough to stop because he was headed down a hill and because of the weight of the hay.
Fuessle said a female eyewitness to the accident told him that she saw the SUV driver swerving along the road prior to colliding with his truck. He said she was directly behind the SUV heading north on FM 1626.
“I heard someone say the driver was on medication,” Fuessle said. “But I don’t know for sure.”
Two rear outer tires on the rig were damaged, rendering the truck disabled. Fuessle did not sustain any injuries as a result of the accident.
Buda Fire Department and deputies from the Hays County Sheriff’s Office blocked traffic in both directions for about 45 minutes while they attended to the SUV driver and cleaned the roadway.
