Colton Allen Turner Killed in Tractor-Trailer Accident in Midland County, TX
Midland County, TX -- January 21, 2023, Colton Allen Turner was killed after an accident where a tractor-trailer reportedly failed to yield.
Texas DPS officials released preliminary information about the crash which they say happened just south of Midland in the morning hours of Saturday. While exact details are pending further investigations, initial reports say that 22-year-old Colton Allen Turner of Lexington, Oklahoma, was in a vehicle going southbound on Highway 349. A tractor-trailer apparently failed to yield turning across southbound lanes to go northbound, and Turner's vehicle crashed into the semi.
Turner died as a result of the collision. No other injuries were reported. At this time, it's unclear if authorities are planning to file charges or citations. Frankly, I find it challenging to envision a scenario where charges wouldn't be warranted. While there could be some highly unusual excuse for a truck to fail to yield (or at least appear to do so), the far more likely scenario is that the driver simply wasn't paying attention. It doesn't take someone like me to point out why that's unacceptable.
Whether through distraction, impatience, poor training, or some other extenuating factor, a 22-year-old man—still a kid in my eyes—is dead. What steps are authorities taking to make sure his family are going to know why their lives were shattered, who or what was responsible, and what comes next for those whose actions robbed them of a lifetime with their loved one?
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