1 Dead, 3 Injured in Salado Bridge Crash

One person is dead and three others have been injured following a trucking accident on Interstate 35 in Salado, Texas.

Details of the Fatal Accident

KVUE reports that the incident occurred when an oversized tractor-trailer traveling on I-35 crashed into a beam of the FM 2484 overpass bridge around 11 am Thursday. The collision caused two beams to become dislodged from the overpass and fall to the roadway below.

The driver of the tractor-trailer, 32-year-old Clark Davis, was killed in the crash. At least three other people were injured in the incident, and were transported to Scott & White Hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.

Authorities do not believe speed was a factor in the collision, but did state that the truck or its load may have been to tall to pass under the bridge.

TxDOT released a statement that the bridges clearance is 14 feet, ½, and that three signs advised a vertical clearance of 13 feet, 6 inches.

Trucking Accident Statistics

The following information was provided by the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT):

• 3,921 people were killed in trucking accidents in 2012, marking a 4-percent increase over 2011 when 3,921 deaths were recorded.
• Of those killed in trucking accidents:
  • 697 were occupants of large trucks
  • 2,843 were occupants of other vehicles
  • 381 were non-occupants including pedestrians and bicyclists
• Another 104,000 people were injured in trucking accidents in 2012 – a 18-percent increase from the 88,000 injuries recorded in 2011.