Just before 1pm Thursday Russell Neal II of Hope, Arkansas was driving his 18-wheeler Peterbilt flatbed northbound on Interstate 69 just south of Cleveland, Texas. As he crossed the East Fork San Jacinto River bridge he felt a bump and thought he blew a front tire.
As this happened, multiple calls started coming into the Liberty County Sheriff’s Office from motorists reporting a possible road rage incident. They were reporting that an 18 wheeler t-boned a silver Hyundai Sonata and was still driving at 70mph pushing it down the road. Multiple units were dispatched.
As units arrived they found it not to be a case of road rage but a crash. Erin Reynolds, 25, of Tempe, Arizona is a children’s book salesperson. She was in the process of delivering books to Coldspring, Texas when she said she blinked and the next thing she knew was there was an 18-wheeler grille in her driver’s window. She said it seemed like forever and she was afraid the vehicle would roll or catch fire as there was heavy smoke from the vehicle tires sliding sideways on the pavement.
The 18-wheeler driver, still thinking it was a blown tire continued to slow down and as he got to the end of the bridge where there was a shoulder, he attempted to pull over. As he crawled out of the driver’s seat he realized he had hit a car and it was still attached to the front of his truck. With the long nose of the truck he was not able to see over it, he called it a blind spot. All four of the Hyundai tires were blown and there was damage to the driver’s door, however they believe mechanically the vehicle is still sound and drivable. Neither driver had a scratch on them.
