Three people were killed and two others were hurt in a major crash in southwest Tarrant County on Monday night.
Officials with the Tarrant County Sheriff’s Office confirmed Tuesday morning that four vehicles were involved in a deadly crash along Farm-to-Market Road 1187 near Ben Day Murrin Road, southeast of Wheatland and Whiskey Flats.
Deputies were called to the crash at about 8:20 p.m. and arrived to find four damaged vehicles, including one that caught fire, and multiple people critically injured. Three people have been confirmed to have died in the crash and two others remain critically injured.
“There were four vehicles, multiple patients because of all the vehicles and one of the vehicles was partially engulfed in fire,” said Chief Ron Becker with the Cresson Volunteer Fire Department.
Officials said paramedics and an operations chief arrived within four minutes and that bystanders helped rescue crews pull people out of a burning vehicle.
“As he made his way to the vehicle that was burning, he discovered there was a patient inside, and with the help of some other folks that were there, they were able to cut the seatbelt and get that person to safety,” explained Becker.
He said the person was taken by air ambulance to a hospital in Fort Worth, and at last check, he heard the person was severely injured, but was still alive.
The identities of the victims have not been confirmed and will be released by the Tarrant County Medical Examiner’s Office once their families have been notified of their deaths.
The Tarrant County Sheriff’s Office said its Traffic Investigations Unit is investigating the crash. FM 1187 was closed overnight but reopened at about 5:30 a.m. Tuesday.
Those who live in the area said they’ve seen multiple crashes in the same spot along FM 1187 near Ben Day Murrin Road, and it’s a dangerous area.
The two-lane road has seen increased traffic over the years due to all the development around it.
James Bankston said that speed, dark roads at night and people driving on the shoulder have been issues. He said it can be challenging to turn left from FM 1187 to Ben Day Murrin Road, no matter the time of day.
“Traffic coming towards, you have to stop or slow down and wait for traffic to clear so you can make your left, and when you do that, they just jump over here and pass you on the shoulder at [high] speed,” explained Bankston.
Becker said he’s worked in the area for 20 years and has responded to bad crashes there before. He said it’s a heavily traveled stretch of road with between 7,000 and 10,000 cars per day.
“At peak times, it’s very busy, and they have shoulders, but you wouldn’t want to try and pass someone,” Becker said.