Fort Worth Family Of I-35W Crash Victim Still Looking For Answers To What Happened One Year Ago
FORT WORTH (CBSDFW.COM) — Jane Watson's house is a tribute to her late husband. There are pictures of Aaron Watson everywhere you look. One black and white photo is in an ornate frame, and sits alone on a table in her Fort Worth home.
"We were just kind of having a quick moment we were chatting, and he can always make me laugh," Watson recalls. It is from their wedding. Their 20th anniversary will be in March 2022.
"Even when I was the most nervous or the most tensed. He could always get a smile or a laugh," she said. "It was the best day of my life."
Aaron Watson was one of six people who died in the crash on February11, 2021. He was a friend, husband and a loving father. Jane and their daughter Cameron often like to look at their phones for old pictures and video of Aaron. One in particular makes them both smile.
"He had one of those laughs," recalls Jane. "When you heard him laugh, you couldn't help but join them. And he laughed the hardest at his own jokes."
Jane recalls the day they heard the news about his passing. "I remember the look of my daughter's face because she was with me," she said choking back tears. "At that point, my whole world my family's whole world had just come to a screeching stop."
Aaron Watson had left for work early that morning. He was a manager at Jason's Deli and wanted to be there for his employees during the upcoming winter storm.
"I looked on a location app that we have for the family. And I had seen that he was sitting on the highway and had been sitting there for at that point 15 to 20 minutes," Jane recalls.
She texted him repeatedly and called him several times.
Eventually Watson waited for hours at the Riverside Community Center in Fort Worth, the designated area for hundreds of family members seeking answers about their loved ones.
While many people were reunited at the center, she kept checking her phone, texting, and calling with no response. "We didn't find out until almost 8 hours later that he had passed away," she said.
The family had to break the news to her son, Weston, who is 12 years old.
The Watsons have no idea what happened to Aaron that morning. Details of why it happened, how it happened and if it was something that could be prevented are not yet available.
The NTSB, in its preliminary report, acknowledged that the area experienced below freezing temperatures 36 hours before the pileup. And that the North Tarrant Express (NTE), the agency managing the toll lanes, had pre-treated the area with a brine solution on February 9. The crash occurred between the barriers of the managed tollways right in the middle of the Interstate-35W.
The NTE told us it is working with the NTSB's investigation. In a statement to CBS 11 News they said -
"The information we can share at this point is limited because we are still working with the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) on its investigation into the accident, as well as pending litigation resulting from the 2021 crash."
Watson says the deadly crash could have been prevented. "I believe this absolutely should not have happened. There was the people responsible for maintaining the roads [who] had plenty of notice and time and opportunity to do something."
She is suing the Texas Department of Transportation and other private entities responsible for maintaining and operating the interstate. The lawsuit alleges that they failed to do so.
Lawyers representing the Watson family, including D'Juana Parks with the Provost Umphrey Law Firm, say, "As the anniversary for this terrible tragedy approaches, our thoughts and prayers are with the families of the victims. It is our hope that by holding the appropriate parties responsible, efforts can be made to prevent something like this from ever happening again."
For now Jane Watson is focusing on what's next. "There's not a day that goes by that we just want him back so badly," she said. "But our kids are his children. They were very strong and they've accomplished incredible things during this time, and I know that Aaron would be so proud of them."