A Conroe man was killed and four others went to the hospital after a three-vehicle crash Sunday night south of Sunset on U.S. Highway 287.
Texas Department of Public Safety Sgt. Dan Buesing said the accident occurred around 9:40 p.m. on Sept. 11 on U.S. 287 south of Sunset.
The report states a 2011 Chevrolet 2500 pickup was driving south on the highway when for unknown reasons it crossed the center median and drove into northbound traffic. The pickup struck a 2018 Chevrolet on its driver’s side, then continued into the northbound lanes where it struck a Volvo truck trailer head-on.
Buesing said the 2011 pickup rolled and the passenger, who was not wearing a seatbelt, was ejected. The driver, Benjamin Lee Schaeffer, 29, Conroe, was pronounced dead at the scene by Montague County Justice of the Peace Jack Pigg. He also was not wearing a seatbelt.
The passenger, Mariah Helmberger, 26, Conroe, was airlifted to John Peter Smith hospital with serious injuries. As of Thursday, her medical status was unavailable.
Sgt. Buesing said the driver and the passenger of the 2018 Chevy pickup, Jeremy Gray, Cantu, OK and a female, age 11, were transported to Wise Regional Health, where they were treated and released.
The driver of the 2016 Volvo truck-trailer, Alejandro Rios, Haltom City, also was transported to Wise Regional Hospital, where he was treated and released.
All three occupants of the 2018 Chevy and the Volvo truck-trailer wore their seatbelts, according to Sgt. Buesing. The crash is still under investigation.