SNYDER – A Houston truck driver was killed early Thursday when his vehicle hit a semi-tractor-trailer parked on the highway shoulder because of a flat tire, the Texas Department of Public Safety said in a news release.
A 2006 Freightliner semi-tractor-trailer was headed northwest about 23 miles from here on U.S. Highway 84 at about 6:10 a.m. when it “crossed the east fog line,” DPS said. The 2006 Freightliner struck the rear of the parked 2016 Freightliner semi-tractor-tractor.
The older Freightliner went into a side skid and caught fire as it entered the east ditch the release said. Driver Vladimir Cruz Soris, 48, of Houston was pronounced dead at the scene.
Joshua Lewallen, 29, of Abilene, a passenger in the older Freightliner, was taken to University Medical Center in Lubbock for unspecified injuries, DPS said.
DPS said it was unknown if the two men were wearing seat belts.
The release said no injuries were indicated for the truck driver and passenger of the parked semi-tractor-trailer.
An investigation continues.