Wrong-Way Crashes Are Common DFW Problem
IRVING (CBSDFW.COM) - Two people were rushed to the hospital early Monday morning after a wrong-way crash. The incident happened just before 2:30 a.m. on the ramp from Irving Boulevard to Highway 183 in Irving. According to authorities, a sedan had been traveling eastbound in the westbound highway lanes. It is not known how long the driver had been going in the wrong direction.
The wrong-way driver exited the highway on an entrance ramp and then crashed head-on with a security truck from the Irving Independent School District. The sedan was crushed by the impact. Both drivers were transported by ambulance to Parkland Hospital in Dallas. Their conditions are not known.
This is just the latest example of a common problem in North Texas.
The Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) launched a study earlier this month looking at wrong-way wrecks. According to TxDOT officials, there were 329 wrong-way crashes across the state last year alone. And it is estimated that 350 people nationwide die each year in such wrong-way collisions.
In most cases -- about 75 percent of them -- the wrong-way driver is impaired by drugs, alcohol or both. Authorities have not said if this was the case in Monday morning's Irving crash.
The next part of TxDOT's study will look at ways to prevent wrong-way crashes. They are testing a radar system in part of San Antonio that can alert police about wrong-way drivers.
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