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Car passenger dies while stopping along Texas highway to urinate

DALLAS -- A man is dead after stopping along the highway to urinate, CBS DFW reports. The incident happened just before 1:00 a.m. early Friday along Interstate-30 in Dallas. When police arrived at the scene, they found a pair of damaged vehicles in the right lane of the highway. 

The driver of a red Mercedes said that she saw a green Honda stopped in the lane, but did not have enough time to slow down and avoid a crash. The red car slammed into the rear end of the green car, causing injuries to several people inside of the two vehicles.

Five people had been inside the stopped Honda, but two of them exited the car before it was hit. Derrick Tate, the vehicle's driver, told police he stopped along the highway so that he and another passenger could go to the bathroom. Tate's vehicle was struck while the two men were urinating.

The other man was killed during the crash, but details surrounding the death are still under investigation. The victim has only been described as a black male. His name and age are still unknown. He was not carrying identification at the time of the incident.

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Derrick Tate Dallas County Sheriff's Office via CBS DFW

Two of the passengers who remained inside the Honda were injured and taken to Baylor Medical Center at Dallas in serious condition. One man dislocated his leg and hip, while one woman suffered a broken arm. Officials did not say anything about the fifth person in the vehicle.

Law enforcement officials determined that Tate was intoxicated at the time of the incident. He was arrested and charged with two counts of intoxication assault causing serious bodily injury. Authorities explained that Tate's decision to stop his car in the highway resulted in two passengers being injured.

The driver of the Mercedes was not detained by police.

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