LUBBOCK, TX. (THECOUNT) — Oscar Hernandez Sotelo Jr., 29, was killed Thursday night in a wrong-way crash on Interstate 27 in Lubbock that left three people dead and four others injured, according to the Lubbock Police Department. Authorities said Sotelo Jr. was driving southbound in the northbound lanes when his vehicle collided with two other vehicles.
Lubbock is located in northwest Texas on the South Plains and is one of the largest cities in the region. Interstate 27 is a major north-south highway connecting Lubbock with communities throughout the Texas Panhandle and South Plains area.
|
Advertisement |
According to police, officers were notified at approximately 7:25 p.m. Thursday about a wrong-way driver and multiple vehicles involved in a collision in the 6500 block of Interstate 27. When emergency crews arrived, two of the three vehicles involved were engulfed in flames.
The Lubbock Police Department said one officer worked to remove a 3-year-old child from one of the burning vehicles. The child suffered injuries and was transported by ambulance to University Medical Center with serious injuries.
A 2-year-old child inside the same vehicle was pronounced dead at the scene, according to authorities.
Investigators determined that Sotelo Jr. was operating a passenger vehicle traveling southbound in the northbound lanes of I-27 when it collided with another passenger vehicle driven by Jairon Foster, 24. Foster was transported to University Medical Center with serious injuries.
The passenger in Foster’s vehicle, Lakecha Collins, 60, was pronounced dead at the scene, according to police.
After the initial collision, authorities said Sotelo Jr.’s vehicle continued traveling southbound and struck a pickup truck head-on. The impact caused both vehicles to catch fire, and Sotelo Jr. was pronounced dead at the crash scene.
The driver of the pickup truck, Alexis Wallace, 28, and her passenger, Aaliyah Wallace, 19, were transported to Covenant Medical Center with serious injuries, police said.
The Lubbock Police Department’s Major Crimes Unit said investigators believe alcohol and speed may have been contributing factors in the collision. Authorities have not announced any charges in connection with the crash.
Police are continuing to investigate the circumstances surrounding the collision and are asking anyone who witnessed the crash or may have video footage from before the impact to contact investigators.
The Lubbock Police Department said information from witnesses and available video evidence may assist investigators in determining the events that led up to the wrong-way crash.
DEVELOPING::