2 Killed in Leon County Collision

Two men were killed on Monday in a head-on collision along U.S. Highway 79 in Leon County, Texas.

Details of the Leon County Crash

KXXV reports that the accident occurred late Monday afternoon roughly 11 miles north of Buffalo.

A 2001 Ford F-550 traveling in the northbound lanes of Highway 79 suffered a tire blowout which sent the truck into oncoming traffic. The F-550 collided head-on with a 2007 Ford F-150 in the southbound lanes.

The driver of the F-150, James Avery Wesner, 61, was pronounced dead at the scene. The driver of the F-550, 43-year-old James Michael Gibson, was rushed to East Texas Medical Center in Tyler. Gibson was pronounced dead at 7:58 pm.

Texas Auto Accident Statistics

Following information provided by the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT):

• 3,377 people were killed in car crashes in Texas in 2013. This marked a slight decline from the 3,413 deaths recorded in 2012.
• 1,883 of traffic related deaths recorded in Texas in 2013 occurred in rural areas.
• 523 people were killed in head-on collisions
• Another 232,041 people were injured in Texas auto accidents, and 89,270 people suffered a serious injury.
• TxDOT estimates that:
  • One person was killed in an traffic collision in Texas every 2 hours and 36 minutes.
  • One person was injured every 2 minutes and 16 seconds.
  • A reportable crash occurred every 71 seconds.