Staff report
One person was killed and another was injured after a fatal rollover accident that occurred during the early morning hours Sunday along Interstate 35.
According to a city of Kyle press release, Kyle Police responded to I-35 northbound at the 217 exit ramp just before 1 a.m. Sunday for a multi-vehicle crash, with reports of one vehicle that had rolled over. The vehicle was later described as a green Chevrolet pickup truck.
“Witnesses on the scene told our officers a male subject was ejected from his vehicle and appeared to be deceased,” Kyle Police Chief Jeff Barnett said in a statement.
Police located a man on the left emergency shoulder of the highway, according to the release.
Hays County Pct. 2 Justice of the Peace Judge Beth Smith pronounced the man dead at the scene. Authorities have not released the identity of the man pending notification of next of kin.
Police believe the man to be a resident of Mexico, but said he may have ties to the Kyle area.
Prior to the rollover accident, the green pickup truck had been involved in a hit-and-run accident at Bebee Road and the I-35 access road on the east side of the highway.
Barnett said witnesses told police the green pickup truck struck a white Chevrolet pickup truck, which was driven by a Kyle woman. The green pickup truck then fled the scene.
“The green pickup was then seen traveling northbound on the frontage road,” Barnett said. “It then crashed through the median onto the main lanes of I-35 at the 217 exit ramp.”
Barnett said the truck rolled over and the driver, who investigators say was not wearing a seat belt, was ejected.
The pickup then came to a stop on the main lanes of I-35 where a gray Volkswagen Jetta struck it.
“The impact from the Volkswagen hitting the green Chevrolet caused the bed of the pickup to come free of the cab, essentially becoming debris in the road,” he said. “A white Toyota Camry and a green Toyota Camry then both hit the bed of the pickup as they were swerving to avoid the crash.”
One driver was transported to an Austin area hospital with non life-threatening injuries. The person was treated and released.
Authorities shut down I-35 for two hours following the crash, as the Kyle Police Accident Reconstruction Team was on scene gathering information and “collecting data to piece everything together,” Barnett said.
Smith ordered an autopsy of the deceased driver. Barnett said it was too early to tell whether alcohol or other substances were involved.
“The investigation is ongoing,” Barnett said.
