Troopers at the scene: Ramey Bass, Kevin Burman, Bill Clark, and Corporal Sam Lattner.
Fiery 18 Wheeler Collision Claims 1, GOODRICH, October 18, 2012 - At approximately 6:30 am on October 18, 2012, an blue18 wheeler driven by Miguel Velazquez, 36, of Maryville, Tennessee, was pulling out of the parking lot of the Goodrich truck stop. Velazquez pulled over the north-bound lanes at the crossover and was waiting to turn left onto the south-bound lanes when he was T-boned by a green 18 weeler driven by Terry Adkins, 48, of Washington, Ohio. Men who were nearby when the collision occurred heard the accident and ran to both 18 wheelers that had now caught fire. Those men included Billy Rollins, Glenn Edwards, David Bowen and Mark Dubose. The men put their own lives at risk when they pulled the drivers from the trucks. According to Billy Rollins, after they pulled one of the drivers out, then turned around, the cab of his truck was completely engulfed in flames. Volunteer fire departments from Livingston, Goodrich, and Scenic Loop were dispatched to the scene along with Americare Ambulance Service, Several Deputies from the Polk County Sheriff's Office and Corporal Sam Lattner with the Texas Highway Patrol who was assisted by other State Troopers including Sergeant Nita Bowen, Ramey Bass, Kevin Burman, Brent Henry, and Bill Clark. Both drivers were taken to Livingston Memorial Hospital with undisclosed injuries. A passenger in Terry Adkins' rig (William Spurgeon) was not able to get free from the wreckage and perished in the truck. All traffic in the north-bound lanes and south-bound lanes of traffic was blocked during investigation and cleanup. A first call car from Cochran Funeral Home recovered the body of Wiliam Spurgeon. According to Corporal Lattner, Miguel Velazquez was cited for failure to yield right-of-way to oncoming traffic. At time of press, the huge mess is being cleaned up by a crew from Riley Wrecker Service out of Corrigan where the burned up trucks will be stored. Traffic has been rerouted, but is very slow.
Special thank you: Ken with Ken's Towing, Derek "Push Button Magic" Baskin, and Chris Moehlman
WARNING: The pictures and video footage below show scenes from a violent 18 wheeler accident. If this offends you in any way, DO NOT scroll down this page.
Click here for footage from the scene.
Stop having to buy new tires every six months! FIX IT ONCE AND FOR ALL!
One 18 wheeler was crossing over to the south-bound lanes from the truckstop parking lot and was T-boned by a north bound 18 wheeler.
2 of the rescuers: David Bowen (left), and Bill Rollins speak with Corporal Sam Lattner about what happened.
Deputy Mark Dubose also helped rescue the drivers.
Justice of the Peace, Darrell Longino performed an inquest at the scene.
The driver of the blue 18 wheeler was cited for failure to yield right-of-way to oncoming traffic.
Livingston Fire Chief Corky Cochran (left) and Goodrich Fire Chief, Ken Hambrick
Scenic Loop Fire Chief, Donald Marlow
The passenger in Terry Adkins' rig perished. William Spurgeon was loaded into a first-call car from Cochran Funeral Home.
