Published: November 04, 2008 08:27 am      

Collision kills two truck drivers

Two tractor-trailer rigs smash head-on Monday morning on U.S. 281 south of Mineral Wells.

By David May
editor@mineralwellsindex.com

PALO PINTO COUNTY – A horrific head-on crash of tractor-trailer rigs left two truck drivers dead Monday morning on U.S. Highway 281 South.

The collision took place at the Union-Pacific railway overhead crossing about 10 miles south of Mineral Wells, north of the Brazos River bridge.

The 10 a.m. wreck left the highway closed in both directions as crews from Mineral Wells Volunteer Fire Department worked to remove the two mortally injured drivers from the cabs of their mangled trucks. There were no other occupants.

Palo Pinto County Precinct 5 Justice of the Peace Bobby Hart pronounced both drivers dead at the scene and ordered routine toxicology tests on both.

The drivers were identified as Werner (Vern) Henry Vanzuydam, 25, of Stafford, Kan., and Douglas Joseph Voss, 43, of Mesquite, Texas.

The wreck remained under investigation Monday afternoon by the Texas Department of Public Safety.

According to reports and witnesses, a northbound double-trailer rig owned by Hearn Farms Inc. of Stafford, Kan., and driven by Vanzuydam moved to the left of center of the two-lane highway at the narrow, shoulder-less underpass.

Just north of the underpass, the southbound rig, Voss – driving a refrigerated trailer hauling various food and grocery items in a rig owned by Jones Vending and OCS Distributors Inc. of Dallas – reportedly slammed on his brakes. The southbound tractor-trailer combo began to jackknife as the northbound rig slammed into its cab, pushing the entire rig backward.

A trailing southbound pickup was unable to stop before impacting the rear of the southbound trailer, causing minor damage to the truck and no major injuries to the driver.

The Hearn Farms rig was reportedly hauling silage, a cattle feed by-product, from Dublin, Texas, to Frederick, Okla. All three trailers involved in the wreck remained intact. The cabs of both trucks were smashed and torn apart. Voss appeared to have died of internal chest and torso injuries caused by the impact while Vanzuydam was crushed within his cab.

Fuel tanks on both rigs were ripped open, sending diesel fuel onto the highway and down a storm drain leading to the nearby Brazos River. An environmental cleanup crew arrived on the scene around noon. Texas Department of Public Safety district official Ed Bodiford said the hazardous material crew would look down the drain, tributary and the river to stop and remove fuel from the waters and ground.