DEAF SMITH COUNTY, Texas - A Friday evening broadside collision between a heavy-duty pickup truck and an overtaking semi-truck left a Hereford man dead and two others injured along State Highway 214.
The Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) confirmed that 77 year old Paul Wayne Reinart died at the scene of the two-vehicle crash, which occurred around 5:13 p.m. on October 16, roughly three miles west of FM 1412.
According to preliminary state police reports, Reinart was a passenger inside a 2019 Dodge Ram 2500 driven by 68-year-old Danny Terrell Brooks, also of Hereford. Both men were traveling eastbound on SH 214 when Brooks pulled off onto the right shoulder, attempting to swing the pickup around in a U-turn.
At the same moment, a 2010 Peterbilt tractor-trailer operated by 43 year old Fidel Chuca Quiroz was approaching from behind in the eastbound lane. Seeing the pickup pull off toward the shoulder, Quiroz moved into the westbound lane to pass the vehicle legally within a designated passing zone.
As the semi-truck initiated the pass, Brooks cut the pickup back to the left directly into the path of the oncoming rig, causing the semi-truck to strike the driver's side of the Dodge Ram.
Reinart, who was wearing his seatbelt at the time of the impact, succumbed to fatal injuries before medical crews arrived.
Brooks sustained severe trauma and was transported to Northwest Texas Hospital in Amarillo for emergency treatment. Quiroz suffered minor injuries in the collision and was taken to Hereford Regional Medical Center for evaluation.
Texas DPS troopers confirmed all occupants were properly restrained. State police continue to investigate the crash, and no formal charges have been filed at this time.
