Shasta Newsome, Teen Killed, 1 Injured in Truck Accident in Brookshire, TX
Brookshire, TX -- February 11, 2023, Shasta Newsome and her daughter were killed after an accident where a truck hit their vehicle.
Authorities said that the incident happened just after 7:30 a.m. along the Katy Freeway (I-10) at the Waller Avenue on-ramp. Police say that 39-year-old Shasta Newsome and two teenagers were in a Kia that was stopped in the gore separating main lanes and the on-ramp. The Kia reportedly had its emergency lights on at the time. Somehow, while approaching Newsome's Kia, a Hino truck left its lane to the right and slammed into the Kia.
Due to the collision, both Newsome and her 13-year-old daughter sustained fatal injuries. A 16-year-old in the vehicle was said to have incapacitating injuries. No other injuries were reported. At this time, it's unclear if any charges or citations are being considered.
Any father can understand just how sickened I am hearing these details. It's a feeling I always get with accidents like this. I'm honestly shocked this event didn't get more attention from the public. If there were any story that warranted an outcry for answers, one would think it would be a mother and her kid being taken from their loved ones (not to mention another kid whose life has changed forever). That's especially true if it turns out this truck is owned by a local business that may still be putting the public at risk.
Just to be clear up front, I don't know more about this specific crash than anyone else looking at public information from the authorities. But I'm probably not alone in having a serious question reading what little information is available: Why the hell did that truck leave its lane?
I'm experienced enough to know that there are all kinds of reasons this sort of thing can happen. There may have been something in the road—maybe something that was the reason the victims pulled over in the first place. This may be an unusually dangerous part of the highway that local officials need to redesign. Maybe the truck didn't leave its lane, and these initial public details are inaccurate. This could all be some freak occurrence the truck driver couldn't avoid that just happened to cause harm to people who were just in the wrong place at the wrong time.
But I'm also experienced enough to know that the most likely explanation is that some reckless truck driver messed up and got a mother and her child killed. Cell phone usage, speeding, poorly maintained tires, fatigue, speeding, impaired driving—thorough investigations could very well show this is yet another family torn apart because a driver couldn't be bothered to do their jobs responsibly.
One way or another other, something obviously went horribly wrong here. Who or what is responsible for that isn't clear yet, but I suspect evidence is going to show there's someone that owes the victims' loved ones some answers. Not only that, but there's likely someone who needs to face serious consequences so they don't go on to cause further harm to unsuspecting mothers and their children.
[jump]
