Curated By: Shankhyaneel Sarkar
News18.com
Last Updated: April 17, 2023, 12:20 IST
Houston, Texas
The family of Clayton Vaughn is mourning his loss after a tire from a truck hit the SUV he was in on the Katy Freeway (Image: Unsplash/Representative)
Clayton Vaughn, a 21-year-old father of a 4-month-old girl, died when a tyre from an 18-wheeler truck flew into the windshield of an SUV, inside which he was travelling, on the Katy Freeway earlier this week.
The incident happened on Thursday night. His girlfriend was driving the SUV and she is expected to be okay, according to a report by US-based local news media outlet ABC13.
The car crash occurred along the westbound lanes of the Katy Freeway near Blalock Road. Blalock Road is in Houston, Texas.
One tyre bounced onto the freeway’s westbound lanes and struck the windshield of the Kia SUV.
Photos released on social media showed the SUV’s windshield demolished.
Questions have been raised regarding the truck driver who never stopped. The truck, according to eyewitnesses speaking to ABC13, pointed out that, was travelling with a landscaping-style trailer attached to it when the tyre flew off the trailer.
WATCH: Man Attempts to Rob Texas Eatery Armed with Fake Gun, Customer Shoots Him Dead
Indian-American Entrepreneur, Her Dog Die After Cottage Catches Fire in US
One eyewitness also said that she saw the tyre eject from the trailer of the black truck, which did not have a licence plate. The tyre was bouncing around before another truck made contact with it.
It rolled into the high-occupancy vehicle lane and a white F-150 pickup hit it, leading it to bounce and go over the barrier, the eyewitness said.
“It went straight into the windshield like ‘Boom!’ I saw it. I saw glass and I saw the hood pop up and the car started spinning,” the eyewitness said, according to ABC13.
The police officials told the news outlet that the driver could be charged with failure to stop and render aid, if found. The decision to charge the driver will be taken by the Harris County District Attorney’s Office.
The eyewitness also said that at one point she was driving side by side with the truck driver. “It happened so fast, but by the time we got side by side, it was like he was going to stop. But I’m sure he saw what I saw, and he started driving slowly,” she further added.
The man’s uncle said he hopes more witnesses will come forward. Evan Richard, Vaughn’s uncle, said even if such incidents happen, negligence played a role in the death of his nephew.
“He was a passenger in a vehicle struck by an oncoming tyre. What are the chances of something like this happening? (You should) know, you are endangering lives around you, and I can’t bring him back. But I can get the message out that you can do better. The city can do better,” Richard said, lamenting that the accident robbed Vaughn of the chance to watch his daughter grow up.
Read all the Latest News here
Follow us on
Download News18 App

source