PICKUP SLAMS INTO 18 WHEELER, BLANCHARD TEXAS, 11/02/21...

Pickup Slams Into 18 Wheeler, 2 Minors Hospitalized, BLANCHARD, November 2, 2021 - At approximately 4:23 pm on November 2, 2021, an 18 wheeler, driven by Kenneth Dawson, 42, of Livingston, was south-bound on FM-2457. Dawson slowed down to make a right turn into a private drive in the 908 block of 2457. As Dawson was turning in, a silver 2008 Chevy Silverado, driven by a 16 year old male Livingston Youth, attempted to pass Dawson on the shoulder. The minor slammed into the passenger's side of the cab (directly impacting one of the diesel fuel tanks). The impact was hard enough that it knocked the tractor portion of the 18 wheeler straight back into the lane of traffic that it had just turned off of. Allegiance Ambulance Service was dispatched to the scene along with the Scenic Loop and Livingston Volunteer Fire Departments, Deputies from the Polk County Sheriff's Office, and Troopers Nick Hatton and Cotye Lowrie with the Texas Highway Patrol. The driver of the pickup and his passenger were both transported by ambulance to CHI Livingston Memorial Hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. Dawson (the 18 wheeler driver) was physically okay. Traffic on 2457 was routed to a shoulder during investigation and cleanup. The youth was cited for failure to control speed. The 18 wheeler was recovered by a heavy-duty wrecker from Clifton Chevrolet out of Corrigan. The pickup was recovered by LakeView Wrecker and will be stored in Livingston.

Special thank you: Ken with Ken's Towing, Chad Summers, and Willie A. Openshaw