Alcohol May Have Been a Factor in Rollover Crash on U.S. 67 South Saturday Morning

A 55-year-old man was driving a light blue Ford Pickup southwest on U.S. 67 South, headed towards Mertzon. At approximately 9 a.m., as the driver approached the 12-mile bridge, the truck veered off the roadway and struck the bridge’s guardrail. As a reaction to the impact, the truck rolled over and came to a rest across the road in the northbound lane.

The road was closed for approximately an hour as DPS investigated the scene and San Angelo Fire Dept. rescue crews extracted the driver and transported him to Shannon Medical Center via ambulance. The driver was not wearing a seatbelt, but his injuries are characterized as minor.

Witnesses at the scene informed DPS that prior to the crash, the blue truck was “all over the road.” Moments before the 911 call, the Tom Green County Sheriff’s Dept. was notified by citizens north of the crash scene that there was a possible intoxicated motorist on U.S. 67 headed in the general direction of the where the crash occurred.

DPS suspects that alcohol was a contributing factor in this crash, but is still investigating.

The driver, Billy Wayne Burks, lives in Mertzon.

DPS Trooper Ram Garza is the crash investigator. Assisting at the scene were the Tom Green County Sheriff’s Dept., SAFD, and a volunteer fire department.