A 27-year-old truck driver in Texas is facing multiple felony charges after allegedly falling asleep at the wheel of his 18-wheeler in broad daylight, causing a catastrophic chain-reaction crash that killed five people and injured several others.
Alexis Osmani Gonzalez-Companioni was westbound on Interstate 20, in Kaufman County around 2:40 p.m. Saturday when he reportedly nodded off and barreled into stalled traffic near the Hiram Road bridge. According to the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS), Gonzalez-Companioni admitted to falling asleep just before the deadly impact.
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“He stated that he had fallen asleep,” said Sgt. Kyle Bradford. “They are obviously doing more research, but that is what he stated.”
The collision sparked a devastating pileup involving three passenger vehicles and two other 18-wheelers. Gonzalez-Companioni’s truck first slammed into a Ford F-150 carrying five people. Four were pronounced dead at the scene, and a fifth was hospitalized in critical condition. Another person, who was in a Jeep Compass, also died, bringing the total number of fatalities to five.
“It was a big boom. Big, big boom,” said witness Shelly Timms.
Corinne Mulcahy, another nearby resident, described watching the truck slam into the F-150.
“I don’t know how many miles an hour he was going, but when he hit that car, I knew he killed everybody in that truck,” she told CBS affiliate KTVT.
After the initial impact, authorities say Gonzalez-Companioni’s rig struck two additional semis, causing one to jackknife and collide with four other vehicles, including a Honda and Ford Mustang.
The crash scene left other motorists visibly shaken. Buddha Wyrick, a nearby RV resort manager, said several traumatized drivers came to his property looking for help.
“They were upset and traumatized,” Wyrick said. “They were like, ‘We’re the fourth car back,’ or, ‘the second car back.’ And they were telling me stories.”
The Terrell Volunteer Fire Department called the aftermath “horrific” and classified it as a mass casualty event. Traffic in both directions was shut down as emergency crews worked to triage and transport victims.
“All you could see was one 18-wheeler, half of the back end was missing,” witness Leak Akins told KXAS. “And then another 18-wheeler, the cab was completely gone.”
Gonzalez-Companioni now faces charges of manslaughter and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. He is being held on $1.5 million bond as authorities continue to investigate the crash.
Texas DPS said the names of the deceased will be released once their families are notified. Further updates are expected soon.
