Emergency crews work to safely clean up the scene of the accident. Photo by Kevin Force.
by Kevin Force, Editor
Two men were killed, two others were injured and a pickup truck was destroyed after it spun out of control into oncoming traffic to cause a five-car accident on Monday on Texas Hwy. 46 and Spring Branch Road.
According to eyewitnesses, a Chevrolet S-10 pickup was heading west on Hwy. 46 about two miles west of Hwy. 281 when it began to lose control around an icy curve. The pickup coasted into the opposite lane before Howard Elsworth could change the course of the rig he was driving, and the rig plowed through the pickup, destroying it instantly.
"It kind of looked like an explosion," said David Jamar, 28, of New Braunfels. Jamar was behind the S-10 in his Ford Ranger, one of the five cars involved in the accident.
The rig lost its front axle in the first collision, but continued to move east as three subsequent oncoming vehicles diverted their course to the shoulders in an attempt to avoid colliding with the rig. The rig collided with a Nissan, the Ford Ranger and a Dodge Durango in succession before skidding to a stop in the shoulder on the opposite side of the road.
"It happened so quick, I don't really know (what happened)," Elsworth said. "I think the pickup was broadside when he hit me."
The rig, an empty cement tanker, belonged to William Smith of New Braunfels. Elsworth was returning from a delivery in Boerne.
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