Teen Killed, Three Others Injured in Crash While Headed to Clyde-Merkel Game

CLYDE, TX— The Merkel Police Department has issued information regarding the death of a Clyde teenager.

According to the Merkel Police Department, on Friday, March 21, 2025, around 7:00 p.m., Merkel Police, Merkel Volunteer Fire Department, Taylor County EMS, Taylor County Sheriff’s Office, and the Texas Department of Public Safety responded to a two-vehicle crash on BI-20.

The first responders observed Chevrolet SUV, and a small Honda sedan involved in a near head-on collision. The SUV was occupied by one adult and one child and the sedan had four teenagers inside.

The driver of the sedan required extrication while the other three passengers were removed without the use of the Jaws-of-Life. Immediate life-saving measures were started on both the driver, a 16-year-old, and a 16-year-old male passenger.

The teen passenger was transported to a nearby trauma center with critical life-threatening injuries. Two 14-year-old female passengers were transported with non-life-threatening injuries while the driver, once removed from the vehicle, was taken to the hospital with serious life-threatening injuries.

The driver of the sedan was airlifted to a higher level of care and is currently listed in critical but stable condition and the passenger, despite extensive medical care, succumbed to his injuries at 12:27 a.m. on Saturday, March 22, 2025.

The initial investigation indicated that the sedan was traveling west on North 1st while the SUV was traveling east. The SUV initiated a left turn into Humphries Village housing when the two-vehicle crashed.

At this time, the investigator has no evidence that drugs or alcohol played a factor in the crash.

All other factors remain under investigation however, it has been confirmed that none of the passengers in the sedan were wearing seatbelts at the time of the crash.

All the occupants of the sedan were students of Clyde ISD and were traveling to the Merkel vs. Clyde baseball and softball games that were hosted in Merkel.

I want to thank all our first responders who acted swiftly and diligently. Our thoughts and prayers go out to all parties involved. Our hearts are heavy, and we mourn with our neighbors at Clyde Independent School District and the many lives impacted by these tragic events.

We continue to pray for the young lives that are still fighting to recover and pray for the medical staff charged with their care. The impacts of yesterday’s tragedy are far-reaching and touch many lives, please take a moment to pray for all those touched by this event.

This is still an active and ongoing investigation. We are not disclosing any involved names at this time.

Philip Conklin

Chief of Police