3 Dead After Wrong-Way Crash Near Forney
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FORNEY (CBS 11) —Three people died after a wrong-way crash near Forney early Saturday morning, police say.
State troopers said the driver of an SUV, 49-year-old Thomas Rutledge, was going the wrong way in the eastbound lanes just after 1:30 in the morning when he slammed into a red Mercury on U.S. Highway 80, just west of the city.
The driver of the Mercury, 21-year-old Alfonso Flores, was on his way home to Forney when he slammed head-on into the SUV. The Mercury caught fire.
Both drivers died at the crash site. A passenger in the SUV, 43-year-old Gina Longshore, was taken to a hospital where she later died.
What caused the wrong-way driving remains under investigation, but state troopers say similar incidents in the area have them urging drivers to pay close attention, especially late at night when crashes like this are more likely to happen because of distractions.
"And the main focus of that is cell phone usage," Kyle Bradford with the Texas Department of Public Safety said. "However anything that takes your eyes off the road is a distraction, so the safest thing that we can advise the public would be to drive in the right side of the road, especially at this particular time of night."
Investigators say at this point there is nothing to indicate alcohol or drugs played a role in this collision. However, the crash remains under investigation.
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