bloodrayne
06-08-2006, 06:22 PM
Police Reconstructing Crash Caused By Donkey
Ennis, Texas - The owner of the donkey that caused Monday's deadly crash in Ennis will face charges. And police are reconstructing the crash and using squad car video and a 911 tape to piece together what happened.
A responding officer could see smoke from miles away. Two 18-wheelers had collided on Interstate 45 and burst into flames. They left behind more than 550 feet of skid marks.
“It just looked real dramatic, and it is something I've never seen before," said Ennis Police Chief Dale Holt.
Police now say with certainty that a donkey was the culprit. While it was being unloaded at a veterinary clinic it managed to escape and run into oncoming traffic. That made the investigation difficult and unusual for the Ennis police department. Today, they decided to charge its owner with a class C misdemeanor for allowing an animal in the roadway.
A driver who watched the tragedy unfold called 911. He told police he saw a donkey or a mule running down the highway. Then he told the operator, "We've got a wreck on the highway now.... there's cars piled up. It's not good."
The driver of one of the 18-wheelers died instantly. Police say his wife was saved by the other truck driver, who managed to pull her out of the inferno. Today they're calling that man a hero.
"We've told him that he was, and he didn't accept that well," Chief Holt said. "I believe that, had he not pulled that lady out, I believe she would have burned in that truck as well."
The wife of the deceased truck driver remains at Methodist hospital. The other driver was released from an Ennis hospital yesterday.
Ennis, Texas - The owner of the donkey that caused Monday's deadly crash in Ennis will face charges. And police are reconstructing the crash and using squad car video and a 911 tape to piece together what happened.
A responding officer could see smoke from miles away. Two 18-wheelers had collided on Interstate 45 and burst into flames. They left behind more than 550 feet of skid marks.
“It just looked real dramatic, and it is something I've never seen before," said Ennis Police Chief Dale Holt.
Police now say with certainty that a donkey was the culprit. While it was being unloaded at a veterinary clinic it managed to escape and run into oncoming traffic. That made the investigation difficult and unusual for the Ennis police department. Today, they decided to charge its owner with a class C misdemeanor for allowing an animal in the roadway.
A driver who watched the tragedy unfold called 911. He told police he saw a donkey or a mule running down the highway. Then he told the operator, "We've got a wreck on the highway now.... there's cars piled up. It's not good."
The driver of one of the 18-wheelers died instantly. Police say his wife was saved by the other truck driver, who managed to pull her out of the inferno. Today they're calling that man a hero.
"We've told him that he was, and he didn't accept that well," Chief Holt said. "I believe that, had he not pulled that lady out, I believe she would have burned in that truck as well."
The wife of the deceased truck driver remains at Methodist hospital. The other driver was released from an Ennis hospital yesterday.