Carlos Barbosa, Griselda Cruz Ibarra, Children Injured in Truck Accident in Gardendale, TX
Gardendale, TX -- February 2, 2023, Carlos Barbosa, Griselda Cruz Ibarra, and two children were hurt in a truck accident.
State officials in the Ector County area were called to the area of Cottonwood Road and FM 554 at around 12:40 p.m. Their public records show that 39-year-old Carlos Barbosa and 50-year-old Griselda Cruz Ibarra were in a Chevy Tahoe traveling southbound on FM 554. At Cottonwood, it appears a westbound truck ran the stop sign and crashed into the Tahoe.
Due to the crash, Barbosa, Cruz Ibarra, and a 10-year-old girl in their vehicle sustained incapacitating injuries. Another 10-year-old was said to have non-incapacitating injuries. Police did not confirm additional detail about the crash publicly. My hope is they at least have done so behind the scenes for the victims involved. Someone running a stop sign is rarely just a simple mistake. It's often a sign of a larger problem that needs to be addressed.
Does this truck driver have a history of reckless driving? Does this sort of crash happen a lot at this intersection? Was cell phone usage involved, either recreational or for work purposes? How fast was the truck going at the time?
Ector County has seen a lot more crashes like this in recent years due to the oil and gas industry, and I've seen locals express all kinds of concerns about big trucks making the roads more dangerous. Is this an example of that phenomenon? If so, what steps are being taken to address it?
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