2022-10-13
Head-on crash kills 2, injures 1 on I-27 near Amarillo; DPS says alcohol a factor | KVII
Excerpt
Two Portales women are dead and Canyon teen was hurt in a head-on crash on I-27 north
Responders investigate a deadly head-on crash near Interstate 27 and McCormick early Thursday, Oct. 13. (ABC 7 Amarillo-Ash Albright)
RANDALL COUNTY, Texas (KVII) — Two Portales women are dead and a Canyon teen was hurt in a head-on crash on I-27 north that closed the highway for a time on Thursday morning.
According to the Department of Public Safety, the crash happened at about 2:30 a.m. and about three miles south of Amarillo.
Officials said Rayna Smith, 18, of Canyon, was driving a 2018 Ford F-150 in the wrong direction in the left lane of I-27 north, approaching the McCormick overpass.
Meanwhile, Alicia Bustos, 21, of Portales, NM, was driving a 2022 Nissan Sentra traveling northbound on I-27 in the left lane.
Both vehicles traveled over the McCormick overpass simultaneously and collided head-on.
The truck came to rest in the left lane and left shoulder facing southeast and caught fire following the impact.
The Sentra spun and was pushed backward by the impact and came to rest on the right shoulder facing north.
A first responder was able to pull Smith from her vehicle before it was fully engulfed in flames.
DPS officials said alcohol is believed to be a factor in the crash.
Bustos and a passenger, Analuisa Mendoza, 21, of Portales, were both pronounced dead on the scene by Randall County Justice of the Peace Tracy Byrd.
Smith was taken to a local hospital with serious injuries but is in stable condition.
The crash remains under investigation.