Donnie Henderson Killed in Haslet, TX Head-On Crash with 18-Wheeler
UPDATE (July 28, 2022): The victim of this accident has been identified as 41-year-old Donnie Henderson.
Haslet, TX — July 9, 2022, one person died in a head-on collision with a tractor-trailer on Farm to Market Road 156 in Tarrant County.
According to reports the incident happened around 5:45 p.m. on the 600 block of FM 156. Preliminary investigation suggests that a Kia Forte was traveling north on the road as a Mack 18-wheeler was southbound in the opposite lane. The Kia driver traveled left of center for unknown reasons and crashed head-on with the truck, then caught fire.
The Kia driver was pinned inside the vehicle until Good Samaritans extracted them, but they were pronounced dead at the scene. No other injuries were reported.
No further information is available at this time.
Commentary on Fatal Head-On Crash in Haslet
Reports say the victim crossed left of center and triggered the accident, but keep in mind that preliminary findings are generally just officers' best guesses. They shouldn't be taken as the whole story before someone takes a closer look. I've even seen some situations where they were completely mistaken.
In another case not long ago, for instance, police said someone crossed the center line and was at fault for a fatal head-on crash with an 18-wheeler. When we looked again on his family's behalf, we found he was only in the wrong lane to escape the truck, which crossed over first when the driver fell asleep. The trucker swerved back after hitting the rumble strips, but that put the vehicles back on a collision course.
Police decided what happened based mostly on finding the car in the oncoming lane when they got there. Our second look ensured the wrong person didn't continue to take the blame.
I'm not saying the FM 156 crash is like that other incident. Even if police are sure the victim crossed over first, though, there's still the question of why. Was it just a common driver mistake like texting or speeding, or did something else happen? Did the Kia blow a tire or have a mechanical failure? Did it hit a bad patch of road? Did the driver have a medical emergency? Those issues may not be as common as distracted or sleepy driving, but they and others can't be dismissed without proper investigation.
Things aren't always as clear-cut as they seem and police can make mistakes or overlook important details. That's why I often suggest working with independent accident reconstruction experts who devote the needed time and care to find all the facts of crashes like this one. At the very least, the victim's family deserves to know every effort was made to learn the whole story.
