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FORT WORTH (CBSDFW.COM) – Emergency officials were kept really busy with two big rig crashes in south Fort Worth late Tuesday night and early Wednesday morning.
The first incident happened shortly before midnight along the southbound side of the South Freeway, close to the Ripy Street exit. According to police, an SUV slammed into the rear end of a big rig and caught on fire. Then, a van crashed into those two vehicles.
The driver of the SUV was pronounced dead at the scene. The van driver was taken to JPS Hospital in Fort Worth with minor injuries. The driver of the big rig was not hurt.
Parts of the freeway were shut down for several hours while police conducted an investigation and crews cleaned up the mess.
But that was not the only crash that snarled traffic in south Fort Worth during the overnight hours. Another incident involving a big rig happened at about 3:30 a.m. in the eastbound lanes of South Loop 820, right at the connector ramp onto northbound and southbound Interstate-35W.
Officials said that a black pickup truck, about to miss its exit, crossed in front of an 18-wheeler that was carrying fruit. The big rig driver tried to avoid a serious crash, but the trailer overturned and dumped a part of its load onto the highway, damaging a guardrail in the process.
MedStar officials reported one person with serious injuries and another person with minor injuries, both from the big rig. The patients are expected to be okay. No charges will be filed against the pickup truck driver.
The crash shut down the connector ramp just before the Wednesday morning rush got underway. Check the traffic map for all of the latest road updates, and to find alternate routes.