Update [October 2, 2015]: The two people in the Corvette who were injured were identified as Clinton Gallo, 53, and Kimberly Gallo, 49.
Moss Hill, TX — On Wednesday afternoon of this week, September 30, 2015, there was a major accident along Highway 105 between a log truck, an ambulance, and a Corvette that left two people in the Corvette with critical injuries. The log truck driver, later identified as 33-year-old Jimmy Earl Matlock, was charged with Failure to Yield to an Emergency Vehicle, police said.
The accident happened on Highway 105 near County Road 2077.
Apparently, Jimmy Earl Matlock had been driving his log truck east along Highway 105 that afternoon when he had to pull over for an ambulance that had its lights on, responding to a call.
Matlock pulled his truck over to the shoulder, but didn’t wait long enough and drove back into traffic before the ambulance had passed him. The log truck clipped the side of the ambulance, knocking it into oncoming traffic, where it crashed into a westbound Corvette.
The Corvette was forced off the side of the highway and into some trees, where it stopped. Two people in the Corvette (who haven’t been identified) were very seriously injured and had to be taken to a hospital via helicopter.
The two paramedics in the ambulance, Jack Terry and Tim Gault, were only slightly hurt.
However, as stated, Jimmy Earl Matlock was cited for not yielding to the ambulance in his ambulance.
Map of the Accident
View from the Road
Commentary:
I took the liberty of looking up some information on this truck driver, because the idea of a professional truck driver not extending a little common courtesy to an ambulance is more than a little frustrating. For all we know, someone else’s injuries had to be put on “hold” because the ambulance didn’t make it due to this driver’s eagerness to get back on the road.
First off, I found the DOT profile for this driver’s company and, assuming that he still runs his own business as a log truck driver, it looks like the DOT has flagged him for having too many vehicle maintenance violations. In fact, it looks like he’s in the bottom 1% for comparable trucking companies when it comes to vehicle maintenance. Not only that, but it appears he’s been cited for not having the proper certificates to drive his truck. All this makes me wonder, “Was this truck even qualified to be on the road that afternoon?”
Unfortunately, it gets a little worse. It appears that someone with the same name, age, info, etc has a bit of an extensive criminal record in the State of Texas, which furthers my skepticism that he was even qualified to be holding a CDL.
For those who think I’m being a little too harsh, let me remind us all of the situation. As a (purported) CDL-holder, this driver is presenting himself as a professional driver and, as such, must be held to higher standards than regular drivers. Moreover, two emergency workers were prevented from doing their job of helping those in need because of this driver’s actions. It’s bad enough to injure someone else with careless driving, but to injure someone who was going to help another injured person? That’s just enraging and I hope my readers are as upset about this as I am. This driver ought to be held accountable for this accident in every sense of the word.
— Grossman Law Offices