At Least One Fatality Reported in Fiery Crash on S. Loop 306

At least one fatality has been reported in a major motor vehicle accident involving a semi-truck, a tractor with a cotton module builder and a truck in the 3700 block of S. Loop 306 near Johnny Cotton Lane.

All of the vehicles have become fully-involved in flames, lending to a blazing inferno scanner traffic indicates could burn for hours, if not all night.

East Concho Volunteer Fire Department, TxDPS and Sheriff's Deputies are tending the scene. The call came in at approximately 6:05 p.m., and by 7:05 p.m., they had run out of water and were calling in assistance from Wall VFD. An SAFD truck is also returning to the station to pick up water, and is rotating out trucks to tend the scene. 

The tractor is blocking the northbound traffic on 306. The southbound lanes are also blocked, however emergency personnel are letting one car through at a time at very slow pace.

At the request of law enforcement, no information pertaining to the fatality will be released until next of kin is notified.

This story will be updated as more information becomes available.

Update 7:12 p.m.

A white passenger car also appears to be involved in the crash. Visibility close to the scene is low due to heavy smoke.

Update 7:24 p.m.

Update 7:42 p.m.

The driver of the tractor, who was ejected and later found in the bar ditch in the median between the north and south lanes, has been transported to Shannon, complaining of neck and back pain. The driver of the white car, a Cadillac CTS, is walking around at the scene. The semi driver has been transported to the hospital as well.

Updated 7:46 p.m.

The semi trailer was carrying a load of peanuts. 

The San Angelo Fire Department is no longer on scene and East Concho VFD has taken over. Using a Bobcat with a front-end loader, firefighters are attempting to break open the semi-trailer van and spread out the peanuts to extinguish the flames. Flames can be seen flaring up from time-to-time underneath the semi-trailer.

Final Update

A witness, who wished to remain anonymous, stated the he and a few other vehicles were involved in a small agricultural convoy this afternoon while it was still daylight, he said. As they drove he heard an explosion, and turned around to render aid.

Once at the scene, he observed that a semi-truck had collided with a pickup and pushed it into the cotton module builder being towed by a John Deere tractor. It wasn't until he got closer that he realized a Cadillac CTS was also involved, and he wasn't sure when it had appeared. He supposed it may have been attempting to pass his convoy when the crash occurred.

The driver was not injured, and expressed sorrow at the loss of life. "My friend. He never had a chance," he said.

TxDPS Trooper Shawn Baxter will release further details of the crash following the investigation.

DPS reports that the man pronounced dead at the scene was 21-year-old Cesar Zea-Gomez from Mereta.