New details related to a traffic accident that recently happened in rural Texas have been released, showing that the driver of a pickup truck that collided with a church minibus may have been texting at the time. 13 senior citizens were killed in the accident, which happened near the town of Concan, TX. According to preliminary reports from investigators, it appears that the driver of the pickup truck has crossed the center line and hit the church minibus head on.
A video showing the final moments before the accident has now been released online and shared by various news outlets. Taken by a witness, 55-year-old self-employed welder Jody Kuchler, it shows the truck driving erratically, as if the driver wasn’t paying attention to the road at all. Kuchler had been driving behind the pickup truck for over 15 minutes and called the local sheriff’s office to report the dangerous driver. After the crash, he spoke with the driver of the pickup, who was apologizing profusely and admitted he was texting when he hit the bus with the church group.
According to information from the Texas Department of Public Safety, the driver of the truck was identified as 20-year-old Jack Dillon Young. He remains hospitalized for the time being. This recent accident has renewed debate in Texas as to the need for a statewide ban on using mobile devices while driving. Currently, local cities are free to ban the practice, but this may not have been the case in the rural area where the collision occurred.