Sunday, June 22, 2008

UPDATED: Four-car crash at Legacy Drive and Custer Road in Plano claims five lives

By Pegasus News wire

Updated 07:25 p.m., June 26, 2008

Photo not provided by Plano Police Department

PLANO — On June 22, at approximately 10:50 a.m., a Plano police patrol officer drove up on a major crash that had just occurred at the intersection of Legacy Drive and Custer Road.

According to eye-witness accounts and evidence at the scene, the preliminary investigation indicates that a black 2008 Pontiac G6 had been traveling westbound on Legacy Drive at a high rate of speed. The driver of the Pontiac disregarded the red light at the intersection and as the vehicle left the roadway it struck a fire hydrant before crashing into a green 2001 Ford Windstar mini-van. The mini-van had been traveling northbound on Custer Road and came to a rest on the northwest corner of the intersection following the collision.

Also involved in the crash was a 2007 Chevrolet Silverado pick-up truck and a 2003 Honda Accord, both of which had been traveling southbound on Custer Road.

The adult male driver of the Pontiac G6 was transported to a local hospital with critical injuries.

The adult female driver of the Chevrolet Silverado was transported to a local hospital with minor injuries.

The occupants of the Honda Accord were not injured.

The adult female driver of the Ford mini-van, an adult male front seat passenger, and a juvenile rear seat passenger were pronounced dead at the scene. Two additional juveniles seated in the rear of the mini-van were transported to local area hospitals where they were pronounced dead. All five occupants of the mini-van died from injuries sustained in the crash.

The names of all involved in this accident are being withheld pending the notification of next of kin.

This investigation by the Plano Police Department's Traffic Unit is currently ongoing.

UPDATE: On June 26, at approximately 5 p.m., David Calhoun Jones, a 46-year-old white male from Metairie, La. was charged with five counts of manslaughter. Each charge carries a bond amount of $100,000. He remains hospitalized due to his injuries.

The Plano Police Department's Traffic Unit is currently investigating.

Source: Plano Police Department

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• Transportation > Traffic Flow and Accidents

Comments

Pavel Lishin Verified

I have a friend that lives at that intersection, this story scared the crap out of me.

3 months, 1 week ago ( Link to this comment | Suggest removal )

Scott Doyle Verified

Man, took out a whole family and possibly friend(s) of the kid(s). =( Definitely going to be more alert for potential red-light 'disregarding' drivers.

3 months, 1 week ago ( Link to this comment | Suggest removal )

Rick Yost Verified

Tracy and I passed by this accident. Our house is just a few blocks away. They detoured us to turn a block before the intersection but we caught a glimpse of the wrecked vehicles. It was a mess. Very scary.

3 months, 1 week ago ( Link to this comment | Suggest removal )

Lisa Lawrence Merritt Verified

I saw two red light runners just this week: one of which was a Dallas city bus!!!

Both times the light was fully red when the vehicles went through the intersections.

3 months, 1 week ago ( Link to this comment | Suggest removal )

Tracy Yost Verified

At the intersection of Commerce and Pearl in downtown Dallas, we are very familiar with the sound of colliding vehicles. It's usually people heading east on Commerce that run the light. Maybe the lights need to be bigger or something.

3 months, 1 week ago ( Link to this comment | Suggest removal )