Fundraising Started for Haskell County Fatal Crash Victims' Families

ABILENE, TX — The tragic crash north of Haskell that killed two students traveling with the Vernon College Rodeo Team was the result of running a stop sign, DPS stated in its initial investigation released Sunday night.

The 9-1-1 call reporting the crash happened at 6:13 p.m. Saturday evening. The crash happened 0.4 miles north of Haskell, DPS stated. The weather was clear and the roadway dry. It was still daylight, and on the portion of U.S. 277 where crash happened, the speed limit was 75 mph.

DPS stated that the driver of a 1997 Dodge Ram 3500 pickup towing a horse trailer was headed northeast on the Business U.S. 277 approaching a stop sign where the business road intersects with the main highway.

Meanwhile, what DPS called a 2016 Thoroughbred Motorhome towing a Kar Kaddy trailer was southbound in the outside lane. The RV was likely traveling at highway speed, 75 mph.

The driver of the Ram 3500 “disregarded a stop sign at the intersection of U.S. 277 Business and U.S. 277,” DPS stated. When the Ram pulled out into the highway, it pulled out in front of the fast-approaching RV. DPS reported the RV crashed into the left (driver’s) side of the pickup. The result can be seen in the pictures.

In the Ram 3500 were four students from Vernon College in Wichita Falls. Three of the students were collegiate competitors in college rodeo. Traveling with them was one female passenger. The status of their seatbelts is officially unknown, according to DPS. But at the scene, officers said some of them were ejected from the Dodge.

In the Dodge were:

• Driver:  Yancie Wade McCuistion, male, 19, of Sugar City, Colorado. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
• Passenger:  Vinita Jean Trevino, female, 19, of Petrolia. She died Sunday evening at Hendrick Medical Center in Abilene.
• Passenger:  Jakob Todd Plummer, male, 20, of Wichita Falls. He is currently being treated in Hendrick Medical Center
• Passenger:  Drew Davis Hill, male, 20, of Canadian. He was transported to to Haskell Memorial Hospital with incapacitating injuries.

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Above: Vinita Jean Trevino, female, 19, of Petrolia died Sunday as a result of injuries sustained in this crash. (KTXS)

Driving the motorhome was Michael Lea Moynihan, 73, of San Angelo. Moynihan’s family confirmed that Michael’s wife, Terry, 72, was his passenger. They were transported to Haskell Memorial Hospital. DPS reported the couple was wearing their seat belts. The couple was airlifted to Hendrick Medical Center in Abilene after they were stabilized, the family said.

DPS said the trailer being towed by the Dodge had three horses inside. Two of the horses survived. One had to be put down by a veterinarian.

The original story on this crash is here.

UPDATE March 21 at 3:15 p.m.

Fundraising for the students involved in the crash this past Saturday continues to receive support.

As of 1:15 p.m. today, the Yancie McCuistion Memorial Fund has raised $5,915 towards the goal of $25,000,according to a KTXS report. The "Vinita and Plummer medical costs" account had raised $1,435 of its $25,000 goal, according to the GoFundMe page.

“We that knew Yancie … would give the shirt off his back to help anyone in need,” KTXS stated from the GoFundMe page. 

According to the account for Plummer and Trevino's families, they were both ejected from the vehicle

"Vinita suffered irreversible brain damage and became brain dead, while Jakob had one of his kidneys and his spleen removed,” the account stated. Plummer “also has brain swelling but the doctors cannot tell right now if it will amount to anything." 

For those people wishing to make a donation to the GoFundMe page, click here.