3 Dead in Horrific Crash South of Eden

CONCHO COUNTY — Friday morning, three Texans lost their life on a rain-soaked highway south of Eden.

According to the Texas DPS, a 2008 Ram Pickup was traveling north on US. 83 near the Concho and Menard County line. Meanwhile a 2004 Nissan Maxima was traveling south on the same roadway.

DPS noted that this section of U.S. 83 near where the crash occurred reduces from two lanes in both directions with a grassy median down to a single lane both directions.

The approximate location of the crash:

The Ram pickup driver, Jasus Ruben Villegas, 24, of San Antonio, lost control, DPS reported. His truck veered across the centerline and into the oncoming lane of traffic. The Nissan, driven by Linda Faye Russell, 58, of Doole, didn’t have time to evade a head-on collision with the passenger side of the Ram.

Russell, the Nissan driver, was killed and pronounced dead by Justice of the Peace for Concho County Judge Scott Spoonts.

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Inside the Nissan with Russell, two other passengers perished. They were Jennifer Lynn Gonzales, 30, of Doole; and Simon Rivas III, 36, of Eden. Russell was wearing a seatbelt but her passengers were not, DPS reported.

Villegas, the driver of the Ram pickup, sustained incapacitating injuries. He was wearing a seatbelt.

The roadway was wet but the weather was clear. Along this stretch of highway, the speed limit is 75 mph. Five DPS troopers performed the crash investigation. The crash happened at 10:53 a.m.