SAN ANTONIO – Authorities in New Braunfels said a man from North Texas died in a chain-reaction accident Tuesday afternoon on Interstate 35.
New Braunfels police and firefighters responded to the crash at 1:45 p.m. in the northbound lanes of the 2900 block of I-35 North near FM 306, where they discovered a Chevrolet Silverado 2500 truck had collided into the backs of two 18-wheelers.
The driver of the Silverado, who has since been identified as 39-year old Matthew Wade Patek from Mansfield, died at the scene, according to NBPD.
Authorities said the truck was traveling at a high rate of speed and “was unable to stop for slowing traffic.”
The truck first crashed into the back of a gravel hauler and the momentum caused the Silverado to wreck into a second 18-wheeler, becoming lodged underneath it, police said.
The 37-year-old driver of the gravel hauler was transported to a hospital with injuries that were not life-threatening. Police said the driver of the second big rig was not injured.
Authorities said an autopsy for Patek has been ordered, but alcohol is not suspected to be a factor.
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