Penske Truck Company owner of big rig involved in deadly toll booth crash
The 18-wheeler involved in the deadly crash at the North Sam Houston Tollway toll booth has been identified as belonging to Penske Truck Company. The driver of the 18-wheeler died along with the driver of a Ford Explorer waiting at the toll booth when the big rig crashed into a low wall at the toll plaza, then landed on the Explorer and burst into flames. The names of the drivers have not been released pending positive identification by dental records. Investigators are saying it is possible the truck driver fell asleep before the early morning crash or may have experiences a medical condition. Toxicology tests will be used to rule in or out drugs or alcohol playing a factors in the wreck. While the toll booths do have cameras the crash was not captured on video. An accident eyewitness named Casey Cain watched the tragic accident happen and captured video on her mobile phone, which can be viewed on Channel 13’s web site here. The video shows both vehicles completely consumed by fire. In a Channel 13 report on the tragedy, Chief Randy Johnson with the Harris County Precinct 6 Constables indicated that the big rig driver was traveling at least 45MPH and was not even lined up with a toll lane that the 18-wheeler could have fit through, suggesting that the big rig driver may have fallen asleep prior to the crash. The same article reports that the rig was registered to Penske Trucking out of Dallas, was rented to a customer who leases from them and that the driver involved worked for Penske‘s customer. What a terrible loss for both families.