Red Oak accident claims 2 lives

RED OAK – Two men died in a collision last Friday in the southbound lanes of the 100 block of N. Interstate 35E.

William Augustus Moore, 64, of Dallas was ejected from the motorcycle he was driving after he ran into the back of a passenger vehicle.

During the collision, Moore sustained fatal injuries, and was pronounced dead at the scene at 6 a.m. by Justice of the Peace Steve Egan.

The passenger vehicle driver, Jerry Love Chapman Jr, 40, of Waxahachie, exited his vehicle to check on Moore following the collision.

When Chapman entered the lanes of traffic, he was immediately hit by a tractor-trailer.

An air ambulance service transported Chapman to Medical City Hospital in Arlington, where he was later pronounced dead at 5:49 a.m.

A press release indicated the driver of the tractor-trailer tried to avoid hitting Chapman, however the second collision was unavoidable.

The driver of the tractor-trailer, whose name is being withheld pending further investigation, pulled to the shoulder of the roadway and stopped on S. I-35E south of the location of the collisions.

Both fatalities occurred at approximately 4 a.m.

The highway was blocked until approximately 9:30 a.m. and the access road until around 6:30 a.m.

“In 2017 there were 5,977 pedestrians killed in traffic crashes in the United States,” said Lieutenant Marc Schroeder, Red Oak Police Department, Administrative Division.

“A total of 5,890 traffic crashes had one or more pedestrian fatalities.

“On average, a pedestrian was killed every 88 minutes in traffic crashes. That is more than 16 people a day, almost 115 people a week. An accident investigation is extremely dangerous for first responders, and we go to great lengths to protect our personnel by blocking the lanes with various emergency vehicles to protect our personnel.”

Schroeder said in addition, personnel are required to wear a reflective traffic vest regardless of the time of an accident to protect first responders. Even with all these additional resources and tactics, hundreds of first responders lose their lives during accident investigations or traffic contacts every year.

“It is imperative that motorists never enter into the lanes of traffic after an accident unless directed by a first responder during the investigation,” he added.

The accident remains under investigation.