Sonora Teen Dies in Two-Vehicle Crash in Sutton County

A passenger of a 2004 Ram pickup was killed when the Ram’s driver lost control and rolled the truck off a rural road near Sonora Sunday.

According to the Texas DPS, Charles Tyler West, 16, of Mertzon was northbound driving the Ram on RM 864 six miles northeast of Sonora with two passengers, following a 2013 Chevrolet Equinox driven by Summer Adele Hall, 16, of Sonora.

Hall slowed to make a left turn into a private ranch, DPS reported. West attempted to pass Hall to the right after determining that he was driving too fast to stop in time.

West’s Ram struck the left front quarter panel of Hall’s Equinox with the right front quarter panel of the Ram. The impact sent the Ram into an out-of-control rollover. West’s two passengers were ejected from the pickup, DPS reported.

Stevie Smith, a 14-year-old girl from Sonora, who was one of West’s passengers was rushed to Shannon Medical Center where she was pronounced dead by Dr. James Slauson. The other passenger of West’s in the Ram, Gabby Zapata, 14, also of Sonora, sustained incapacitating injuries.

Neither Hall nor West were injured, DPS reported.

The approximate location of the crash:

The roadway was dry and the skies clear at the time of the crash at just after 4 p.m. Sunday.