STAFF REPORT
A truck driver could face charges after an Austin man died and three other people were injured following multiple wrecks during Tuesday morning’s rush hour traffic in Buda, police say.
Isidro Tobias, 53, was killed when a semi-truck slammed into his pickup, which was stopped along Interstate 35 for a crash that blocked southbound traffic near the Robert S. Light Overpass, Buda Police Chief Bo Kidd says.
At about 5 a.m., the semi-truck hit Tobias’ pickup, pushing it up against a second semi-truck waiting in traffic. The out-of-control 18-wheeler then struck another pickup pulling a trailer, police say, causing it to crash into a van, which was forced into a small passenger car.
“There were no skid marks,” Kidd said. “He hit those cars going full-speed.”
The pickup was crumpled like an accordion, he said. The semi-truck driver, Wilmur Marc Walker of Lewisville, will be charged with driving at an unsafe speed, and police are considering additional charges, Kidd added.
A 58-year-old Pflugerville woman in the other pickup suffered non-life-threatening injuries and was transported to University Medical Center at Brackenridge in Austin, Kidd says.
Later, a motorcycle rear-ended a pickup stopped at the intersection of Overpass Road and the interstate’s east access road. The motorcyclist, an Austin man, and his passenger sustained injuries and were also taken to Brackenridge. They have been listed in stable condition, according to police.
The crashes snarled traffic for hours, stopping motorists beyond Slaughter Lane, as authorities diverted them off I-35 while investigating the fatal wreck.
“I know it frustrated people and does me too when I’m stuck in traffic,” Kidd said. “A lot of times the only way to do a thorough investigation is to shut down the interstate. Fortunately it doesn’t happen too often. I’m sure it affected thousands of people.”
