BY ROBERT MORALES
Justin Wayne Taylor, 35, Riverside, Calif., was killed on Feb. 14 at about 5:50 p.m. at mile marker 143, a few miles from Van Horn, when he collided head-on with a semi-tractor trailer. The cause of the accident is believed to have been caused by a blowout in the vehicle Mr. Taylor was driving.
On Jan. 22, a Kermit woman was also killed on I-10 in an accident involving a blowout. Her one-year-old infant survived.
According to Sgt. Elizabeth Barney of El Paso Texas Department of Public Safety, Mr. Taylor was traveling eastbound on I-10 when his vehicle suddenly experienced a blowout on the front left tire. He heavily applied the brakes, causing the 2000 Ford F-250 pickup to enter a counter-clockwise skid, exit the highway and enter the center median.
The vehicle continued to travel beyond the median and entered the westbound lanes of I-10. That is when Mr. Taylor’s vehicle struck a 2006 Volvo semi-tractor trailer driven by Alexis Perez of Ocala, Fla. A fire quickly engulfed both the F-250 and the semi-tractor trailer. Mr. Taylor was trapped inside his vehicle.
A full-scale effort from the Van Horn Volunteer Fire Department, the Sheriff’s Office, the Border Patrol and the DPS were at the scene, as well as several medical personnel from EMS and Culberson Hospital. Mr. Perez was transported to University Medical Center in El Paso, and Mr. Taylor was pronounced dead at the scene.
Ms. Barney reported that Mr. Perez has been removed from the intensive care unit and is now listed in stable condition.
