Daniel Garcia Killed in Truck Accident on Highway 302 in Ector County, TX
Ector County, TX — June 22, 2022, 31-year-old Daniel Chaparro Garcia died in a 3-vehicle accident involving an 18-wheeler on Highway 302 near Odessa.
According to reports the incident happened early Wednesday morning on Highway 302 near Farm to Market Road 866, roughly 11 miles west of town.
Preliminary investigation suggests Garcia was driving a Mercury Montego south on FM 866 when he allegedly disregarded a stop sign at the highway. He traveled into the path of a Kenworth tractor-trailer hauling oil field equipment and the truck hit the car. Debris from the collision hit a nearby Freightliner semi-truck.
Garcia was pronounced dead at the scene. The truck drivers were unhurt.
No further information is available at this time.
Commentary on Daniel Garcia Accident on Hwy 302 in Ector County
Images of the intersection show that vehicles on FM 866 are is meant to yield to highway traffic. It's not clear why the victim didn't wait for the truck to pass, but before drawing conclusions it's important to consider all the possible explanations.
For example: Did the Mercury have mechanical or brake problems? What about the driver--was he in good health, or could a medical issue have caused him to lose control of the car? Did something block his view of the approaching truck? Was signage present and clear at the intersection? Could bad weather or hazardous road conditions have been a factor? Is there a history of similar crashes in that area? Is the intersection designed poorly? Could the truck driver have done anything differently to avoid the collision?
I'm not trying to overcomplicate things here. Unusual factors are just sometimes overlooked and incorrect conclusions are reached during preliminary investigations. For instance, there was another recent incident in West Texas where someone allegedly ran a stop sign and fatally crashed with an 18-wheeler, only for us to find out later that road crews removed the signs during construction and didn't put them back. The victim didn't even know he had to stop, but until accident reconstruction experts learned that he was unfairly blamed.
It's pretty unlikely the same thing happened near Odessa. I'm just saying that many crashes aren't as simple as they might appear and crucial details are often overlooked or misunderstood. The victim deserves the benefit of the doubt while efforts are made to learn the full story. Will police be thorough enough to get it, or would an independent investigation stand a better chance?
